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A lot has been spoken about the International Cricket Council's plan to take away the hosting rights of 2021 ICC Champions Trophy as well as the 2023 World Cup from India, in the wake of Indian government's resistance over giving the apex body a tax exemption. While the threat of losing the rights of the two major ICC events looms large, the BCCI has reportedly warned that it will invoke the Members Participation Agreement (MPA) if such a scenario becomes reality.

As per a TOI report, sources aware of the developments said: “Should the ICC use tax exemptions from Indian government as an excuse to make up for their own losses and propose the shifting of tournaments, it will lead to a disaster. India will pull out of all agreements.”

“The matter came up when the ICC board expressed their concern around the absence of 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 a standard practice for major sporting events around the world,” the ICC statement had said after a meeting earlier this month.

ICC’s independent chairman Shashank Manohar, who is gearing up for a re-election to the chair in June this year, is said to have won the previous elections because of his resolve to do away with the financial model first dictated by India. Those speaking for the BCCI say that “now those numbers in the present cycle cannot be compensated so India’s tax laws can’t be used as an excuse”.

The TOI report further reveals that the ICC has not even applied for an exemption with the Indian government, considering they themselves would have to share their own revenue patterns and all related papers with the authorities in order to avail an exemption.

The BCCI, however, says ICC — despite Manohar at the helm — expects them to start a dialogue with the government and expects India to clear past tax dues, including the 2016 World T20. “This is a joke, unless, there are individuals doing this to protect their own chairs after projecting financial surpluses that now cannot be justified,” a source tracking the developments told TOI.

In the worst case scenario where the ICC decides to shift two major cricket tournaments outside of India, in order to compensate for their own losses of US$100m, the stand-off between them and the BCCI will surely get ugly.

“This time, the BCCI will not flinch in invoking its rights through the MPA. India’s losses in those newly proposed ICC revenues don’t mean a thing. The proposed loss is not even enough to make up for what the BCCI earns through a single bilateral or two (Star pays Rs 43 crore per match according to the present contract and the renewed one is expected to fetch more in the new bidding). To make up for the rest of the world, you can’t take a tournament of this magnitude away from India,” the source added while speaking about the matter.

India last hosted an ICC event in 2016 – ICC World Twenty20 – but a tax exemption was not given by the government. ICC’s latest decision to search for an alternative venue for both 2021 and 2023, however, has not gone down well with the Indian cricket board.