Former Pakistan Cricket Board and Apex Council chief Ehsan Mani has questioned India’s share in revenue in the upcoming ODI World Cup. Apparently, the Apex Council announced the revenue share of different participating teams. The largest share is of the Indian Cricket Board which is around 37-38 percent of the entire tournament. Meanwhile, Mani has said that revenue share to India makes no sense.
“The (proposed revenue distribution model) will be giving the most money to the country that needs it the least, which makes no sense,” Mani, who was ICC president from 2003-06 and stepped down from the Pakistan Cricket Board in 2021, told Forbes in an exclusive interview.
The former PCB chair added that there is too much reliance on India for revenue. He also mentioned that the same percentage could have been distributed to associated cricket members
“It only takes one downturn in an economic cycle for the ICC members to be affected. There is far too much reliance on India,” he said.
“If the ICC wants a truly global game and diversifies its financial reliance, the country to develop is the US I would have put $20-30 million into the US You also need to grow the game in Africa, that’s the future.
“I think the global game (Associates) should have been allocated at least 30% (instead of 11%). That’s the only way to globalize the game.”
“You have to give countries enough resources to not only develop their players but to pay them a fair amount, especially with the IPL and other T20 leagues targeting players,” he said.
“There are benefits to the Indian companies to advertise in the ICC events and worldwide. India are not playing on their own they are playing against other members. It’s a two-way street.”
