ICC reminds BCCI of 'tax exemptions' as Shashank Manohar's tenure comes to a close: Report

In February, the International Cricket Council (ICC) sent out a single-page letter to all cricket boards of their associate members. According to a media report, the letter stated that if the respective central governments of these boards failed to provide guarantees like tax exemptions within the deadline, they will not be able to host any ICC events between the 2023 and 2031 cricketing calendar. The letter was directly aimed towards the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) since India is currently scheduled to host the 2021 T20 World Cup and 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.

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ICC threatens BCCI of losing T20 World Cup hosting rights

According to a report in The Times of India, ICC has once again reminded the BCCI of submitting a letter stating detailed guarantees of their tax exemptions for the 2021 T20 World Cup and 2023 50-overs World Cup. The report further states that BCCI is already a month behind in delivering the said letter to the apex body. However, as BCCI’s cricketing projects are currently struck with the coronavirus pandemic just like the rest of the cricket boards, an official recently stated they have to wait until the crisis eases out in the country.

The subject was reportedly discussed in a meeting between BCCI and ICC on May 8. According to a claim made by a BCCI source to the leading Indian daily, the continuous demand by ICC is not “earth-shattering” like the current coronavirus situation across the country. The source cited the example of the T20 World Cup 2016 which was also hosted by India, but the tax exemption letter was signed just one month prior to the tournament.

This news also comes at a time when many believe that BCCI President Sourav Ganguly could succeed fellow Indian Shashank Manohar as ICC chairman, as the latter's period at the post would be ending soon. 

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T20 World Cup 2020 and India lockdown’s impact on IPL 2020

In other news, the contagious nature of the coronavirus disease prompted the BCCI to indefinitely postpone the launch of the Indian Premier League 2020 (IPL 2020) season. In late April, BCCI President Sourav Ganguly stated that there are no immediate plans of hosting any cricketing activities in the country at the moment. In spite of Sourav Ganguly’s announcement, BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and apex council member Anshuman Gaekwad recently hinted that IPL 2020 can take up the September-November slot later this year. However, such a move would be made possible only if ICC shifts the October-November’s T20 World Cup in Australia to a later date.

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