BCCI outvoted in crucial vote on ICC constitution

The ICC's new constitution moved a step closer to reality on a dramatic late afternoon in Dubai, as cricket's Full Members exercised their collective will to outvote the BCCI. The Indian board was the only member to object against a new financial model and was one of the only two countries to vote against the new governance changes. The finance model received a 9-1 vote in favour, while the governance structure was passed by an 8-2 margin, reports ESPNcricinfo. Although the majority was overwhelmingly in favour of the new ICC constitution, it will be approved formally only after being ratified at the annual conference in June. In the financial model that was passed in Dubai on Wednesday, the BCCI's share of the ICC revenue was only $293 million, a little more than half the amount the Indian board wanted. Apart from the BCCI, the Sri Lanka Cricket was the other board member to oppose the governance structure. It is understood the SLC wanted to see the changes that had been made after the ICC received feedback from the members. The BCCI was alone in opposition to the finance model, after its office bearers - the secretary Amitabh Choudhury and treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry - had rejected the ICC's settlement offer worth approximately $400 million on Tuesday. The Indian board wanted $570 million, the share it was getting under the Big Three model. The settlement offer had been made by ICC chairman Shashank Manohar to Amitabh Choudhury. Manohar was the head of the ICC working group that had prepared the proposed constitution, which comprises the finance and governance structure models. The BCCI then approached most of the major Full Members with a counter offer: it gets $570 million but none of the other Full Members get anything less than what was stated in the new constitution. ESPNcricinfo understands the other Full Members rejected the BCCI's offer, leaving Choudhry and Chaudhry in a tight position on Wednesday morning, hours before the ICC Board meeting. "The alternative left for them was to adopt the middle ground," an official present in Dubai said. The BCCI was told that it would do well to consider Manohar's offer. "It is INR 700 crore, and they were told to consider hard before making a move." Meanwhile, India failed to submit its squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy by the Tuesday midnight deadline and, as it tries to thrash out a better revenue deal with cricket's governing body, the world's richest board has not ruled out boycotting the tournament altogether. India, who won the last edition in 2013, was the only country not to name its 15-man squad for the June 1-18 tournament. However, there is no scope for sanctions or penalties under the Members Participation Agreement (MPA).