BCCI treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal on Thursday confirmed that India are not at the risk of losing the hosting rights for the ICC T20 World Cup next year after reports circulated that the governing body would take away the rights after BCCI failed to secure the tax exemption for the tournament.
BCCI was supposed to get tax exempted for the 2021 World T20 with May 18 as the deadline. But they failed to do it in time while also asking for an extension until the end of next month citing lockdown as the issue is not being able to approach the government regarding the matter.
Earlier on Wednesday, ESPNCricinfo had even reported that ICC had threatened to take away the hosting rights for 2021 World T20 over the tax issue.
"In light of the BCCI's notification of force majeure, we would highlight the obligation on the BCCI of the Host Agreement and that IBC (ICC Business Corporation) is entitled to terminate the agreement with immediate effect at any time from 18 May 2020," Jonathan Hall, the ICC's general counsel, was quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
However, Dhumal confirmed Reuters that India will host the tournament and that the negotiations are still going on.
“There is no risk to the tournament,” he said by telephone.
“That is a work in progress. We are discussing it with the ICC and we’ll resolve it.”
Earlier during the 2016 World T20 which was the last ICC event held in India, there was a similar issue between the two regarding the tax exemption which resulted in the governing body losing around $20-30 million. But this time around, the losses could go up to $100 million.
“There are certain timelines within the agreements that we collectively work towards to ensure we can deliver successful world class events and continue to invest in the sport of cricket,” an ICC spokesperson told Reuters.
“In addition to this the ICC Board agreed clear timelines for the resolution of the tax issues which we are guided by.”
