The Supreme Court of India may have forced him to step down as BCCI president, but nothing can stop N Srinivasan from representing India at the ICC or becoming its first chairman. BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said as much at the 37th National Convention of the Sports Journalists' Federation of India (SJFI) here on Saturday.
"By the end of this month, India will take up a leading role in the ICC. Mr Srinivasan is going (to Melbourne). There is no Supreme Court bar on him. Both of us are going to Melbourne. In the last four months, we have settled (the issue) with all the full members of the ICC and convinced them about the new structure and the new financial model which that be followed in the coming years," Patel said.
The administrator also conveyed his personal view regarding the exiled BCCI chief. "As far as my personal view is concerned, Srinivasan is not guilty but we have to follow the laws of this country and we are abiding by it. We are hopeful that things will be over by August-end. I have already mentioned in the Supreme Court in two of my affidavits that we will offer full cooperation to the probe panel because we have nothing to hide," said Patel.
Patel also revealed that "68 to 70 per cent" of the ICC's revenue comes from India. "Unfortunately, all these years, we were getting just 3-4 per cent of the revenue. After a lot of deliberations with ICC officials, Australia and England also joined hands with us. And from the projected revenue of $2.8 billion for the eight-year cycle from 2016 to 2023, it was decided that India should get 24 per cent (nearly $800 million)," he added.
Patel said that had India not got its due, they would have been forced to form a "second ICC". "We were criticised in the media. A lot of people did not agree with us, but we told the ICC that if India didn't get its due then the BCCI might be forced to form a second ICC of its own," said Patel. "India has almost worked out the Future Tours Programme (FTP) till 2020. In the next eight years, India is likely to host three international events including the World Cup."
The BCCI also wants the ICC headquarters to be shifted to India. "India is also a contender," Patel said.
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