New Delhi: ICC has reportedly suffered a financial loss of 160cr due to the T20 World Cup which was held in the USA. The report was published in the PTI where the exact amount was shown to be around USD 20 million. Most of the games that were held in America had a very awkward time gap with the ISENA countries where the major of chunk of cricket fans are there, especially in India.
Although these are plausible explanations, nothing concrete has yet been confirmed by ICC. So far ICC has made a 9-pointer agenda to look into the details of this financial downfall. The authorities and the national boards of each team have decided to meet for the Annual General Meeting which starts on Friday in Colombo where this issue is likely to be discussed in the “post-event report.”
The ICC lost more than 160cr for hosting the 2024 T20 World Cup in the USA. (TOI). pic.twitter.com/4zhEywCdjL
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) July 18, 2024
Everyone had expected that America would be a booming market for cricket with a strong expatriate community living there which has started taking a liking towards the game. However, as it turns out the financial dividends have not been much even when the popularity of the sport sees potential growth in the States.
Jay Shah likely to become ICC President at the Annual General Meeting
The other likely announcement which can come from the meeting is the declaration of the BCCI Secretary as the Chairman of ICC. Shah is expected to replace Greg Barclay as the ICC Chairman. According to PTI, the main area of interest for all the stakeholders of ICC is the functioning of the world body under the reign of Shah.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah will attend ICC meetings from July 19 to July 22 in Colombo. PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi will also attend ICC meetings. On the sidelines, both board officials will face each other. Jay Shah will come to know who’s the real “Big Boss” 🇮🇳🇵🇰🔥@JayShah @BCCI pic.twitter.com/H3EhV3C1KX
— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) July 18, 2024
Shah’s takeover was a mere formality of a completion of full circle. Under the tenure of Jay Shah, India won the T20 World Cup in 2024. Subsequently, Shah embarks on a new journey with the ICC. According to an anonymous ICC source, “It is not about how but when, as he still has one year left as BCCI secretary before his cooling off period in the Indian board…”
Jay Shah revealed the reason behind MS Dhoni’s captaincy pic.twitter.com/ogixHbrkur
— RVCJ Media (@RVCJ_FB) November 1, 2023
With the new secretary imminent to take over, it remains interesting to see what changes Shah initiates in the cricketing body.