Ehsan Mani suggests ICC to review current financial model
Ehsan Mani, president of the Pakistan Cricket Board, suggested that the ICC needs to pay attention to their current financial model in order to assist the 92 International Cricket teams devoid of Test status.
“The current financial model harms the interest of almost all the 104 ICC Members. The biggest losers are the 92 Non-Test playing countries, who receive far less than they used to,” Mani told Cricbuzz. “The pre-2015 financial model was more equitable. All Full Members (Test-playing nations) received 75% of the net ICC revenues, which were shared equally between them. The Non-Test playing members received the remaining 25%.”
The International Cricket Council got rid of the big-three financial model in 2017, three years after its implementation. According to the new financial model, after the projections are scaled down to different factors, it still seems BCCI and ECB will receive US$ 139 million, that is more than other boards like CA, PCB, CSA, NZC, SLC, CWI, and BCB, who are set to receive $128 million each while the fate of the non-Test-playing nations is expected to go from bad to worse.
ALSO READ: T20 World Cup not feasible this year: Ehsan Mani
ECB outgoing chairman Colin Graves, who is touted as the front runner for the ICC’s chairman post that is yet to be finalized after Shashank Manohar’s resignation, urged ICC to review the financial revenue sharing model while leaving the office of ECB, similar to what Mani said.
Colin Graves is one of the top contenders for the post of president of the ICC
Mani clarified that his interests lie in only the betterment of Pakistan Cricket and the PCB, and he is inclined upon running for the chair. He said, “I am fully committed to Pakistan and my only interest is to serve Pakistan cricket and make it healthier and stronger so that the game can continue to thrive. I have already been ICC Vice-Chairman (2002), Chairman & President for three years (2003-2006); and presently Chairman of the ICC Finance & Commercial Affairs Committee, having previously headed this body for six years (1996-2002).”
Mani added that he does not think there is a problem for other countries if a new president is elected from the big three, despite the fact that the majority of members are still dependent on one of the big three to tour to make money.
ALSO READ: ICC induct Jacques Kallis, Zaheer Abbas, Lisa Sthalekar in Cricket Hall of Fame
He said, “Clyde Walcott (West Indies), Myself (Pakistan), Percy Sonn, Ray Mali (both South Africa), and Alan Issac (New Zealand) were not from the so-called Big 3. Six other chairmen have been from Australia, England, and India since 1993. The role of the ICC Chairman is to look after the interest of all ICC members, not a select few.”
“I was personally instrumental in commercializing the ICC Events and raising over $1.7 billion for world cricket between 2000-2007 and before I did this, the ICC had very little money and the members received very little from the ICC,” he added.