India team for ICC Champions Trophy to be selected on May 8
May 6, 2017
The Indian team for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy will be picked on May 8, finally breaking the deadlock over India’s participation in the mega event scheduled to be held in England from June 1.
India Today has learnt that captain Virat Kohli, who is busy leading Royal Challengers Bangalore in the ongoing Indian Premier League season 10, will join the proceedings via conference call.
Earlier, irked by the delaying tactics of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (COA) on Thursday asked the board to announce the team for the Champions Trophy immediately.
The BCCI had deliberately missed the April 25 deadline for submission of the squad in the wake of the International Cricket Council (ICC) proposing a new financial model which reduces BCCI’s revenues from USD 570 million to USD 293 million.
The ICC had overwhelmingly voted to drastically reduce the BCCI’s share of revenue at its board meeting that led to much heart burning among BCCI officials who contemplated a pull out from the Champions Trophy.
The CoA in a letter to the BCCI on Thursday asserted that the it must not hurt the interest of the players in its dispute with the game’s world governing body.
In the letter to BCCI Joint Secretary Amitabh Chaudhary ahead of the board’s Special General Meeting (SGM) on Sunday, the CoA demanded an immediate meeting of the selection committee to announce the squad for the Champions Trophy.
The CoA also urged the BCCI to resolve its differences with the global body in the best interests of Indian cricket.