Sharad Pawar okay with ICC’s London shift

International Cricket Council president-in-waiting Sharad Pawar has categorically denied his opposition to shifting of the world body’s headquarters from Dubai to London, as reported in a section of the media. The ICC vice-president told DNA: “I don’t have any opposition to the move. The recent reports are incorrect.”
Pawar, who will take over as the ICC president in July, added, “There is no truth in such reports.” There were reports that the BCCI has endorsed the shift to London even in the face of Pawar’s opposition.

In principle, the ICC executive board has already taken a decision to move the headquarters to London although a timeframe for the shift has not yet been finalised. A decision on the date of shifting could be made later this month when the ICC’s executive board meets in Dubai on April 19 and 20.

One of the reasons for shifting the office, some members say, is to restore the 100-year old tradition of the council which was based in London for 96 years before it was moved to Dubai, which is a tax-free haven for the ICC.

Even the BCCI, the most powerful member board of the ICC, is in the forefront of ‘London chalo’. “We cannot simply brush aside the tradition,” says a BCCI member. Besides, there is now a perception that the headquarters should be in a member country rather than at a neutral place.

Although there is total exemption for the ICC revenues in Dubai, its expenditure is also believed to have increased as the world body has expanded since coming to Dubai. In London, it could have less staff. There is also a perception that the existing office, acquired recently, has not seen much development in the surrounding areas.

“We should be at a happening place rather than in the midst of a desert,” a BCCI official told this newspaper.

The flip-side to the shift is that the ICC will have to shell out a fortune towards heavy corporation taxes in London.

One option being explored is to go back to pre-2005 arrangement of having its financial arm in a tax haven like Monaco or in Dubai itself and run cricketing operations from London.