India In Serious Danger Of Losing 2023 World Cup Hosting Rights As ICC Tightens Stance

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has reacted strongly to India and other Full Members who have been expressing their reservations over the governing body’s hosting model. And the repercussion could massively shake up the world order in cricket in coming years.

The ICC has sent out a letter that threatens to snatch away hosting rights from India as well as other Full Member nations if they don’t comply with the governing body’s new model. According to The Times of India, the letter, signed by the ICC’s chief executive officer Manu Sawhney, has primarily demanded government guarantees from future hosting nations of ICC events.

One of the main points in the letter is the tax exemptions, which has long been a bone of contention between the sport’s governing body and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The ICC gets tax exemption from member nations for conducting global events but it didn’t get any for the 2016 T20 World Cup as Indian tax laws don’t allow any such leeway.

Consequently, the apex body of the game had lost quite a good chunk of fortune after hosting the last T20 World Cup in India. The Indian government had refused to exempt the competition from tax and it has remained firm with its decision. The BCCI tried its best to make the government soften its stance but it did not yield the desired result.

The ICC has now taken a tough stance on the same. The governing body in its letter has made it clear that the failure to provide the guarantees (mainly the tax exemption) will lead to the member not being able to host any ICC event over the next eight-year cycle that runs from 2023 and 2031.

“What’s happening is utter madness,” a BCCI official told the news outlet. “And India still doesn’t seem to be in a position to do much about it, because it has to first wait for the Supreme Court’s order. [Shashank] Manohar [the ICC chairman] has already said that India will lose the 2023 World Cup if it doesn’t get tax exemptions. This is worrying because we all know what happens if things go that way.”

The latest development essentially puts India’s rights for hosting the 2023 50-over World Cup at stake, with the BCCI having not yet come to terms with the ICC’s tax requirements. The Indian cricket board has not agreed to the ICC’s mandate to shoulder the burden of tax liabilities that amount to INR 150 crore (over 21 million USD or £ 16 million) for hosting future events. In case, the BCCI fails to comply by the ICC rules, they are at a risk of losing global revenue share.

India are still waiting to receive the hosting fee for the 2016 T20 World Cup. In addition to all this, the ICC will also no longer provide hosting fees, starting from the 2023 cycle, leaving member nations to generate their own revenue, from ticket sales, hospitality and catering.

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