ICC rejects Pakistan Cricket Board’s compensation claim against India over bilateral series issue

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has rejected the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) compensation claim against the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for failing to honour a Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral series. In a tweet put out by the ICC, the Disputes Resolutions Committee (DRC) stated that the case against BCCI (is) dismissed by the dispute panel. The judgment is binding and non-appealable.” The ICC's three-member dispute resolution committee was formed in 2017 to look into the PCB's compensation claim. The hearing took place at the world body's headquarters in Dubai from October 1-3.

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The dispute between the Indian and Pakistan board dates back to 2014 when the-then BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel signed a one-page document which BCCI had a termed as a ‘proposal letter’ to play six home-and-away series against Pakistan from 2015 to 2023. The first of the proposed series was planned in November 2015 in the UAE but BCCI didn't get permission from the government which is mandatory for any bilateral cricketing engagement with Pakistan.

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The PCB had demanded compensation of Rs. 447 crore after alleging the BCCI didn't honour the MoU which required India to play six bilateral series. The Pakistan board claimed the compensation for losing out on TV revenue for that particular series. The BCCI, on its part, maintained that the alleged MoU was not binding and did not stand as Pakistan failed to honour a commitment to support the revenue model suggested by India for the ICC. The Indian cricket board also said bilateral cricket with Pakistan was subject to government clearance, which has not been easy since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

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Speaking to PTI, Committee of Administrators head Vinod Rai said the BCCI’s stand was vindicated. “What PCB termed as Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was just a proposal letter,” Rai said. He also added that the BCCI were also looking at legal options against Pakistan. “We will make a presentation to the panel and demand entire cost of compensation to be borne by the PCB for the arbitration where their claims have been dismissed,” Rai added.

India and Pakistan have played just one bilateral series in the last 10 years which was three ODIs and two Twenty20 Internationals in 2012. The last time India played a series against Pakistan was in 2007 which was won 1-0 by India. Both countries play each other in multi-nation tournaments like the Asia Cup and ICC events. Ever since the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008, relations between India and Pakistan have hit an all-time low.