BCCI Apex Council meeting: Domestic cricket and tax solution for T20 WC to highlight discussions

By Nitin Srivastava
New Delhi [India], January 12 : The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will hold its Apex Council Meeting on Sunday in which the board will not only discuss the fate of the domestic season, but also discuss the tax issues that the Indian board needs to sort with an eye on the 2021 T20 World Cup which the country is set to hold.
The items on the agenda, accessed by ANI, are confirmation of the minutes of the 4th and 5th Apex Council meetings; discussion on domestic season 2020-21; discussion on tax solution for ICC T20 World Cup; discussion on the NCA project; hiring of personnel for NCA, Bengaluru and for BCCI headquarters at Mumbai; discussion on matters related to ICC's 2023-2031 cycle; update on Bihar Cricket Association; to consider any other business which the chairman may consider necessary to be included in the agenda.
The tax issue was earlier also discussed in the BCCI Annual General Meeting on December 24 and it was decided that secretary Jay Shah and treasurer Arun Dhumal would speak to the government to find a way forward in the matter.
"We are set to host the 2021 T20 World Cup as well as the 50-over World Cup in 2023. We need to speak to the government to see if we can get tax exemption and for this, we have decided that our secretary Jay Shah and treasurer Arun Dhumal will speak to the government.
"If the government does not agree, we will then decide on how to go about it. We also have the 2016 World T20 matter pending, so that will also have to be worked out," a member who attended the meeting said.
The ICC cycle 2023-2031 will also be an interesting point of discussion as the BCCI is pretty clear that bilateral ties are an integral part of the gentleman's game while the ICC is keen to bring in more showpiece events to help spread the game further. New ICC chairman Greg Barclay is clear that there will be a balance.
"I see bilateral cricket and world events as being very complimentary and needs each other. Bilateral cricket is the lifeline of cricket. Each country has to have both the ability and the obligation to play bilateral cricket. Countries will only get better and continue to be competitive if they get the opportunity to play against other countries, lesser countries to play against better countries. Better countries have the obligation to help those who perhaps don't have the experience or exposure.
"The reason I think why bilateral cricket is fundamentally important to individual countries is because you got fan engagements, domestic pathways, aspirational arrangement around cricketers as well as high-performance programmes and your elite cricketers being able to play at the top stage. So it is a vital part of the fabric of any cricketing country.
"The ICC events are without a doubt a showcase of cricket and I think ICC runs very good at events and all countries do get an opportunity to enter the events. From the ICC's point of view as well as showcasing events, they obviously generate a reasonable amount of most country's income. So, there is a careful complementary balancing act that is needed. I am a fan of ensuring ICC events continue to be world-class as they are and maintaining the abilities of all countries to continue to play bilateral cricket," he had said.