ECB, CWI bat for quadrangular events at ICC meeting

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja had proposed a quadrangular series involving India, Pakistan, Australia, and England in January this year with the idea of playing this tournament in the T20 format. At the same time, the revenue generated from this competition is estimated to be a mammoth USD 650 million in media and commercial rights.

Lately, it has been learned that a similar but independent proposal has been made at a recent meeting of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in Dubai by the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB), supported by the Cricket West Indies (CWI). Meanwhile, it has also been reported that Raja will be presenting the final plan on April 10 with the “emphasis on extra revenue share of which can be distributed among the Associate members too”.

The matter was discussed by the CEC and was backed a few boards: ICC member

“The matter was discussed by the CEC and it was backed by quite a few boards, if not by the F&CA. The matter goes to board with two points of view,” an ICC member, who was part of the CEC said while speaking to Cricbuzz.

The report further states that the the members of Finance and Commercial Affairs Committee (F&CA) are not convinced with this project as they reckon that “too many multilateral tournaments could dilute the value of the World Cup”.

PCB had originally come up with the September-October window, but nothing has been confirmed yet. Meanwhile, the report also adds that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has taken a neutral stand on this. While the ECB CEO Tom Harrison has voiced for the four-nation T20 competition to be organized in convenient windows by the members, the teams can only engage in triangular events according to the ICC‘s current rules which restrict the multi-lateral engagements.

It now remains to be seen whether the PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja’s vision will be given the approval by the governing body of world cricket.