BCCI approved to get nearly 40% of ICC's annual net earnings

90-plus Associate members will share approximately US$ 67.5 million per year from ICC's annual net earnings.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) strong position in world cricket has been given another stamp of approval as the ICC board approved a revamped revenue-distribution model which sees the Indian board getting the lion’s share.

The BCCI's revenue share will now be 38.5 percent of the ICC's annual income, which could amount to over $231 million per year or more specifically close to INR 2000 crores.

On the other hand, ICC's approximate annual earnings of US$ 600 million - while none of the other 11 Full Members have a share in double digits in terms of percentage. The 90-plus Associate Members will share approximately US$ 67.5 million per year.

This was previously reported by ESPNCricinfo, who had leaked the earnings for the upcoming ICC cycle. The finance and commercial affairs (F&CA) committee of the governing body worked on the new model after it was initially created by an ICC team.

Despite a change to the draught model, the distribution model mostly stays the same. However, a middle band of five full members - CSA, SLC, BCB, NZC, and CWI - will receive an increase in revenues of around US$ 1 million annually. Following the BCCI, the ECB, CA, and PCB earn the most under the new arrangement.

The criteria used to decide BCCI’s massive share of ICC’s earning

It was always anticipated that the absolute rise in income across all Full Members (rather than the percentage shares) would prevent those complaints from being disruptive, despite the fact that some boards, foremost among them the PCB, had first raised questions about the workings behind the concept.

The criteria - "component weightings", as they are called in the model - are: cricket history; performance in both men's and women's ICC events over the last 16 years; contribution to the ICC's commercial revenue; and an equal weightage for the status of being a Full Member.

This is similar to something that was drafted by the big three nine years ago. Then, a different F&CA working group (headed by the BCCI, ECB, and CA) created a "position paper" outlining a suggested redesign of the ICC's management and allocation of its earnings.

The model also took into account four factors: revenue given to the ICC, prior ICC membership, on-field performance over the previous 20 years in men's and women's competitions, and domestic development performance.

The key criterion is the commercial value each board brings to the global pot, which is where the scales tilt heavily in favour of the BCCI.