India could be in danger of losing the hosting rights of the 2021 ICC Champions Trophy due to the absence of tax exemptions provided by the Indian government.
During its first meeting of 2018, the International Cricket Council (ICC) raised concerns over the lack of tax exemptions which it said was ‘standard practice’ for any premier sporting event of the magnitude of the Champions Trophy.
This is despite ongoing efforts by both the ICC and the BCCI in trying to secure the exemption. After its meeting in Dubai, the world governing body issued a press release stating that alternate venues will be mulled over as the dialogue between the ICC, BCCI and the Indian government continued.
“The Board expressed their concern around the absence of a tax exemption from the Indian Government for ICC events held in India despite ongoing efforts from both the ICC and BCCI to secure the exemption which is standard practice for major sporting events around the world,” the press release said.
“The Board agreed that ICC management, supported by the BCCI will continue the dialogue with the Indian Government but in the meantime directed ICC management to explore alternative host countries in a similar time zone for the ICC Champions Trophy 2021,” it added.
The event could be moved to the likes of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
This means that India could be in danger of losing the hosting rights to other ICC tournaments like the 2023 World Cup too if the issue is not resolved.
The ICC considering alternate venues with similar time-zones means the likes of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh could be in consideration.
The governing body also confirmed that Pepsico Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi has been appointed to the ICC Board as its first independent female director and will be joining in June 2018.
The ICC also agreed to a revised financial model which incorporated increased funding for the newest Full members – Afghanistan and Ireland.
“The new model will see Ireland and Afghanistan each receiving a percentage of the projected surplus, amounting under current projections to approximately $40m each over the course of the current eight year commercial rights cycle,” ICC stated in the press release.