New ICC chairman claims India's issues in world cricket will be 'treated differently'

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) head Greg Barclay was elected as the ICC chairman as he comprehensively beat Singapore's Imran Khawaja to succeed India's Shashank Manohar. The new ICC chairman was recently involved in an interview with ESPNCricinfo where he spoke on a variety of topics ranging from associate nations to future of the ICC to the 'Big Three' concept.

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Newly-elected ICC chairman Greg Barclay opens up on Big Three concept

India, Australia and England are considered as the 'Big Three' in cricket for the large amount of revenue that they generate due to the popularity of the sport and passion amongst the fans in these countries. Speaking about the concept of 'Big Three', Barclay reckoned that he doesn't second the concept because for him all the members of ICC are equal. However, the new ICC chairman admitted that India, Australia and England help in generating a lot of cricketing outcomes and are important for the sustainability of the game but in the end, they are individual members of the ICC just like the others nations and can’t be treated as something special.

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Barclay further said that he wasn’t at the ICC when the 'Big 3' resolutions were put in place. However, he added that while the resolutions changed the funding model, there were also some good things that came out of that like the FTP, so members got certainty around their playing arrangements and certainty around their funding.

The NZC head also opened up on the distribution of revenue among the country boards. He stated that there has been no concept of Big 3 for the last four years or so and he knows that England and Australia are very much of that view as they also get the same amount of [ICC events] money as everyone else which has never really been an issue. 

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However, Barclay opined that India are a slightly different case as they're a huge cricketing force. He reiterated that they need to have India in the tent and with 1.3 billion people and the stuff they do around cricket, the ICC just need to address some of their issues differently. He also mentioned that there are a lot of positives to come out of what India does as well as any perceived negatives.

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SOURCE: AP