LONDON: The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has backed Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja’s plan of introducing a four-nation Twenty20 tournament, receiving a further boost.
The England cricket board backed the decision at the Chief Executives Committee (CEC) meeting of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in Dubai, according to media reports.
During the meeting, ECB’s Cheif Executive Tom Harrison said that the members be allowed to organize four-nation championships at convenient windows
It is understood that the ECB was supported by a few other boards, including Cricket West Indies (CWI) and obviously by the PCB too. Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) remained neutral over the proposal.
The reservation came from the members of Finance and Commercial Affairs Committee (F&CA), who are believed to be of the view that too many multilateral tournaments could dilute the value of the World Cup.
The current ICC rules restrict the multi-lateral engagements to only triangular events. On the other hand, Ramiz Raja will present his proposal tomorrow with emphasis on extra revenue share of which can be distributed among the Associate members too.
The bilateral series calendar for the 2024-25 cycle will also be decided in the ICC meetings and PCB will try to seek three-match Test series in each of Pakistan`s series.
According to sources, PCB’s four-nation T20 event proposal could carry weight if the BCCI comes to its support. Otherwise, the PCB can propose to include Pakistan, Australia and England as permanent members and add one different country every year.
