'We are not dictated by what the ICC says' - Indian minister

Adopting a tough stand, the Indian government on Thursday dismissed protests by the ICC against its decision, which makes it mandatory for private sports broadcasters to share feeds of matches involving the Indian team with Doordarshan, the state-owned broadcaster. "We are a sovereign nation. We are not dictated by what the ICC says," PR Dasmunsi, India's information and broadcasting minister, told reporters in New Delhi.

Many foreign cricket boards, private sports broadcasters and management companies as well as the ICC have said that the Indian government's decision, taken late last year, will devalue exclusivity and result in huge losses to the private broadcasters.

"I wouldn't like to speculate on how much money it would cost us, but I know it would be substantial," Ehsan Mani, ICC president, said recently. In fact, he has written to the information and broadcasting ministry and even the Indian prime minister on the matter.

To drive home his argument, Dasmunsi said that the Indian government also had to abide by rules when it dealt with matters abroad. "When we wanted to show our programmes in the UK, they wanted us to register a company there. So if they want us to follow their rules in their country, they have to do the same here," he said.

Some of the private sports broadcasters have decided not to accept the government's decision lying down. Both ESPN-Star Sports and Ten Sports have sought legal recourse in the Delhi and Bombay high courts respectively to have the government decision rescinded.