By BIPIN DANI
Mumbai: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) may be contemplating the idea of getting the ICC headquarters (HQ) relocated to Mumbai, if not London, but their task would not be as easy as it seems.
There are not only taxation issues to be dealt with in India, but a decision taken by the ICC in 2004 before moving out from London to the present day HQ of Dubai, according to one of the former ICC presidents.
Speaking to this scribe over his mobile from overseas, the former ICC chief said, “we, at the ICC, had decided that no full member would be allowed to host the ICC headquarter".
"There were very good reasons for this, including ensuring that ICC remained strictly neutral and was not influenced by the host nation. If this principle still stands, then the ICC might not be able to shift its base from Dubai to any full member country including India oe England”.
However, Keith Bradshaw, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) official, is hopeful that the ICC will re-shift its base back to Lord's, the home of cricket. “MCC never wanted to see ICC leave the Home of Cricket in the first place, and we would welcome them back with open arms", he said.
It may be recalled here that due to the potential imposition of heavy taxes in the United Kingdom, the ICC headquarter was moved out of London to the UAE (Dubai) in 2005.
As Sharad Pawar is going to lead the ICC in June next year, the powers that be at the BCCI are planning to convince the other full members of the ICC to move its HQ from Dubai to Mumbai. According to another source, the move could be set in motion after June this year, when Sharad Pawar succeeds David Morgan as the ICC president. Pawar, a former BCCI president, is currently the ICC vice-president. Also the fact that he’s a heavy weight central government minister and may well be able to "convince" the Finance Ministry regarding tax exemptions to be given to the ICC might just impress the honchos of the game's governing body.
Mumbai: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) may be contemplating the idea of getting the ICC headquarters (HQ) relocated to Mumbai, if not London, but their task would not be as easy as it seems.
There are not only taxation issues to be dealt with in India, but a decision taken by the ICC in 2004 before moving out from London to the present day HQ of Dubai, according to one of the former ICC presidents.
Speaking to this scribe over his mobile from overseas, the former ICC chief said, “we, at the ICC, had decided that no full member would be allowed to host the ICC headquarter".
"There were very good reasons for this, including ensuring that ICC remained strictly neutral and was not influenced by the host nation. If this principle still stands, then the ICC might not be able to shift its base from Dubai to any full member country including India oe England”.
However, Keith Bradshaw, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) official, is hopeful that the ICC will re-shift its base back to Lord's, the home of cricket. “MCC never wanted to see ICC leave the Home of Cricket in the first place, and we would welcome them back with open arms", he said.
It may be recalled here that due to the potential imposition of heavy taxes in the United Kingdom, the ICC headquarter was moved out of London to the UAE (Dubai) in 2005.
As Sharad Pawar is going to lead the ICC in June next year, the powers that be at the BCCI are planning to convince the other full members of the ICC to move its HQ from Dubai to Mumbai. According to another source, the move could be set in motion after June this year, when Sharad Pawar succeeds David Morgan as the ICC president. Pawar, a former BCCI president, is currently the ICC vice-president. Also the fact that he’s a heavy weight central government minister and may well be able to "convince" the Finance Ministry regarding tax exemptions to be given to the ICC might just impress the honchos of the game's governing body.
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