'The BCCI concedes nothing' despite agreeing to play Champions Trophy

India's participation in the Champions Trophy will not come at the cost of ceding any ground in the BCCI's ongoing negotiations with the ICC over a new constitution and finance model. according to the board's acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary.

"We have not conceded anything at all," Choudhary said after the BCCI's special general body meeting (SGM). "Let that be absolutely, unequivocally clear. That the BCCI concedes nothing. And in any case, there is adequate legal room for further action."

At the SGM, the BCCI's members - the state associations - unanimously decided not to send a notice to the ICC over the possibility of revoking the Members' Participation Agreement (MPA). Had they pulled out of the MPA, it could've meant India not hosting or participating in ICC tournaments until 2023. The board instead said it would continue to negotiate with the ICC, while keeping its legal options open.

The BCCI is unhappy with the outcome of the ICC Board meeting in April, when it was outvoted by other Full Members in the motion to pass through a new ICC constitution and financial model. At the meeting in Dubai, Choudhury tried to convince other members to agree to a counter-offer on the finance model and to postpone the vote on governance changes until June, but eventually failed to do so.

In the new financial model, the BCCI receives $293 million from the ICC's revenues, a sharp drop from their projected revenues of $570 million in the model devised by the Big Three. The ICC chairman Shashank Manohar has left room for an additional $100 million - an offer that still stands - but Choudhury turned that down. The BCCI still wants $570 million. though in Dubai they did tell other members their shares would not be affected.

ESPNcricinfo understands that N Srinivasan, the former BCCI president and one of the architects of the Big Three model, joined the SGM via video-call. According to an official who was present, Srinivasan said that the governance changes approved at the ICC's meeting should be of greater concern to the Indian board than the finance model.

"Honestly, we have been too stuck up with the amount," Choudhary said. "There were two parts to the metamorphosis that the ICC will be going through. The financial model which has been presented is a part of that. The major changes are proposed for the governance structure. I think all of us should be devoting ourselves to what is more important and what will have greater consequences. That is the ICC governance structure."

The BCCI's objections to those have already been made eminently clear. In March, the board CEO Rahul Johri sent the ICC an email, in which he called the proposed changes "vague and unclear". In particular, the Indian board has concerns that it could lose clout in the boardroom if the composition of the ICC board is expanded to 15 members and includes voting rights for independent directors.

"Our concerns are very clear," Choudhary said. "While cricket must spread as a world sport, we must also make sure that our position as the predominant cricket country in the world remains undiminished."

Although the ICC has approved the new constitution, it needs formal ratification at the annual conference in June, a week after the Champions Trophy ends. Choudhary said he was hopeful negotiations could bear fruit before then. "I think most Full mMembers and even the three Associate members that were there - one from Singapore, one from Ireland and one from another country. I think all of them, all of them empathise with India. That's why I still see hope."