BCCI miffed with the ICC's $135 million budget for England for Champions Trophy

Anurag Thakur: BCCI president

The Board of Control for Cricket in India is reportedly peeved with the International Cricket Council's decision to earmark a budget of USD 135 million for the 2017 Champions Trophy. The BCCI has expressed reservations over this amount as it far less than the USD 45 million which was allocated to them for organising the World Twenty20 this year.

However, the allotment of a particular budget is all part of the process before any ICC tournament is held in a country. A certain amount is sanctioned to the host country, which then in turns appoints a Local Organising Committee. This LOC is responsible for carrying out all expenses right through the tournament.

Although the BCCI is well aware of the process, it is miffed with the huge escalation in the budget. Compared to the World T20, where 58 matches were played over a period of 27 days, the Champions Trophy consists of only 15 matches and is a two-week affair. This is what has not gone down well with the BCCI.

Apart from the budget, there are also reports that the ICC is building an office in London which will then be given to the England and Wales Cricket Board after the tournament is over.

Reports suggest that the BCCI has already sent a letter to the ICC and have “expressed their reservations about the budget”. This matter will be up for debates and deliberations on the sidelines of the ICC Chief Executives meeting to be held in Dubai on September 6 and 7.

“It is strange but when the ICC World T20 was held in India, the BCCI organised a tournament of longer duration at 1/3rd cost. Even if we take into account that the costs will be more in the UK as expenditure will be in GBP (Pounds) but in India, there are more overheads including logistics as you need to take flights from one city to another which is not the case in England”, a BCCI official was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India.