Tendulkar, Dravid want India in Champions Trophy

India cricket legends Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid want India to play in the Champions Trophy starting next month as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) mull a withdrawal from the ICC event after being outvoted as the ICC board approved a new constitution, governance structure and finance model in a recent meeting in Dubai. 

ESPNCricinfo contacted a group of 12 former India cricketers, who were all unanimous in their opinion that India should be part of the Champions Trophy in England. 

The cricketers contacted were Tendulkar, Dravid, Zaheer Khan, Gundappa Viswanath, Sandeep Patil, Sanjay Manjrekar, Aakash Chopra, Ajit Agarkar, Venkatesh Prasad, Saba Karim, Murali Kartik, and Deep Dasgupta. 

India are the defending champions, having won the last edition in 2013, also in England. India had earlier missed the April 25 deadline for squad submission for the event and had then said the delay was due to ‘operational’ reasons. However, it soon came to light that BCCI were thinking of pulling out of the eight-team event because they were not happy with the outcome of the voting, especially the restructuring of the financial model that would see them earn (USD 293 million) considerably less than they would have under the Big Three model (USD 570 million) over the eight-year cycle. 

ESPNCricinfo reports that the BCCI is divided over the issue, with a faction strongly in favour of revoking the Members Participation Agreement with the ICC, which would rule India out of hosting and participating in all ICC tournaments until 2023, at the end of the present rights cycle.

A final decision on India's participation in the Champions Trophy is likely to be taken by the BCCI at its special general body meeting on May 7 in Delhi.