Star writes to ICC, expresses 'deep concern'
Pressure appears to be building up on the International Cricket Council (ICC) to convince its stakeholders of India's participation in the Champions Trophy starting early next month.
On Wednesday , it came to light that the giant broadcaster sent out a formal letter to the ICC, expressing concerns. Sources in the governing body told TOI of the communication received from Star India, which expresses "deep concern on the uncertainties" and how it has already impacted the commercial prospects of the Champions Trophy.
"If India were not to participate, the tournament would lose its meaning," Star has conveyed to the game's parent body.
Star is clearly getting jittery with less than 30 days remaining for the tournament to start. "Anxiety levels are going up given what's at stake for them," a source in the know of things said.
Sanjay Gupta, the managing director at Star India - official broadcast partners of the ICC - had spoken with TOI last week and said "we are confident BCCI and the ICC will resolve issues around the tournament."
Gupta had sounded confident that matters would be resolved and now, given the BCCI's decision to send the notice to the ICC, it is learnt that Star has decided to take things up. "They believe that the disagreements between the two parties are widening rather than narrowing and their advertisers are getting nervous too," the source added.
Last week, Group M's Southeast Asia CEO CVL Srinivas had also expressed concerns from the advertisers' point of view, given the uncertainty of India's participation in the tournament.
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