ICC, BCCI resolve MPA dispute

' It was accepted in the spirit in which it was given. That opens the bidding process to proceed forward' - Percy Sonn © Getty Images

The ICC's annual general meeting ended in Mumbai on Saturday with a seemingly amicable resolution of its disputes with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The Members Participation Agreement (MPA) issue was said to have been worked out and the BCCI withdrew its bid for the ICC's TV rights.

The MPA covers image and other rights of teams and players at ICC events including the World Cup and Champions Trophy. It is protected against "ambush marketing", ruling out advertising endorsements that compete or conflict with the official ICC sponsors.

The BCCI's refusal to sign the MPA, claiming that it infringes the rights of the member board and their players, had upset the ICC which pointed out that, despite receiving the agreement months ago, the BCCI only raised its concerns in the days before the deadline for signing expired. Without the agreement the ICC could refuse to allow the Indians to participate in the World Cup but, were they to allow them to participate without signing, no other country could be held to it.

Saturday's announcement, though it didn't spell out the details of the compromise, lays those fears to rest and has reduced fears of a showdown between the two boards. Those fears had heightened last month when the BCCI said it would bid for the ICC's TV rights between 2008-15 and market them.

It was seen in some quarters as an inflammatory gesture, though the BCCI said it was based on a solid bottomline. Lalit Modi, the BCCI vice-president, told Cricinfo that the bid to acquire those rights was aimed at offering world cricket a better deal, in terms of both finances and players' concerns. "We are ready to pay top dollar for it...Our money is as good as anybody else's", he said on Roundtable, the fortnightly debate on Cricinfo Talk.

Today, however, Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, said the BCCI had withdrawn its application to be permitted to tender. A media release said the decision had been taken "after a legal opinion that indicated it would be a conflict of interest".

Percy Sonn, the ICC president, said it was "accepted in the spirit in which it was given. That opens the bidding process to proceed forward."

"It wasn't a process that happened in two days," said Sonn when asked how amicably the whole issue had been resolved, especially considering the public display of rancour over the last few weeks. "The process had started a while ago. Our technical people have met on a number of occasions since the last time. The executive board considered the matter and found a way where we can all agree, the board stood in unanimity.

"There are no fights between BCCI and ICC. The BCCI is a loyal member of the ICC. The bidding of rights is well on its way. I reckon we'll make a lot of money out of it."

Meanwhile, Ata-ur-Rehman, the banned Pakistan fast bowler, has been reinstated on the official players' list and can play from May 2007. Rehman, 30, was one of those implicated in Pakistan's controversial match-fixing inquiry five years ago - he admitted to lying under oath after initial statements - and was serving a life ban from the game handed him by the ICC in 2000.

"From May 2007, Ata will be free to play cricket as he wishes," Speed added, "in England - league cricket, county cricket - or wherever he may be selected.

"We've received no further application from any other player," he said when asked about Mohammad Azharuddin. "the provision is been in place since 2003 to enable an application to be placed. If and when an application is made from any other player, we will deal with it in the same way."

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