India’s £140m ICC a sign of global cricket’s shifting power balance

England will see its annual share from the International Cricket Council double to around £30 million from next year but it will not hide the balance of power shifting further towards India, who are demanding a massive increase in their dividend.

India are pushing for their annual payment to rise from £36.89 million to nearly £185 million across the ICC’s next broadcast deal from 2024-2027. It would be an increase from 22 per cent to 37 per cent of the ICC’s revenue which is shared among the member nations. 

The ICC signed the biggest broadcast deal in its history earlier this year when it sold its India rights for £3.6 billion for exclusive access to global tournaments such as the Twenty20 and 50-over World Cups, dwarfing deals in the rest of the world.

India, England and Australia all increased their power base in 2017 the last time revenue distribution was agreed, creating the so-called Big Three. Now it is the Big One, with England, Australia and the rest seeing their income dwarfed by the Indian board.

Previously, revenue was shared on the basis of performance at world events. Now, if the plans are ratified at the ICC’s next meeting in July, it will be decided on market value in particular regions with India clearly the big players. It is estimated nine in every 10 dollars of income in cricket is raised in India. The ICC windfall follows the Indian board tripling the value of its Indian Premier League rights to £4.97 billion deal earlier this year. The Indian board will this summer put its domestic rights (covering the Indian national team) out to tender.

England’s percentage share under the new model drops but the money has more than doubled from £12.83 million to £29.67 million because the pool is bigger following the India rights deal. While the England & Wales Cricket Board will land just shy of £30 million, smaller countries will receive slightly less, rising from around £12 million to £24 million.

Jay Shah, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, also chairs the ICC’s financial committee which is in charge of revenue distribution among the members.

With IPL owners buying up franchises across the world in developing leagues, the prospect of 12 month contracts luring players away from international cricket is growing, especially when matched with India’s financial pulling power increasing.

Multiple franchise deals pose problems for boards like the ECB who will see their stars targeted with higher salaries than they are currently paid to play bilateral international cricket. One answer will be to offer multiple year central contracts to tie down young players and those mid-career to prevent a talent drain. 

Harry Brook, for example, earns £1.3 million from his IPL deal with Sunrisers Hyderabad but is only on an ECB ‘incremental’ contract, a level below central contracts, worth around £58,000 plus match fees. He was not a Test regular when the last batch of central contracts were offered in September and the current model means they are only reviewed on an annual basis with no cash left in the budget to add him at a later stage.

Rob Key, the England managing director, has indicated multi-year central contracts will become a reality as well as an increase in match fees. Several players missed the recent ODI and T20 series in Bangladesh because they could earn more playing franchise cricket than touring with England.