The Board of Control for Cricket in India made it clear that domestic matches are within the ambit of its telecast deals and said it would not allow efforts by some staging associations to market the matches in the upcoming Sri Lanka series on their own.
"All domestic and international matches are properties of the BCCI, there is no doubt about it," BCCI secretary S K Nair told reporters in Mohali on Friday.
Nair's comments were in response to media reports that quoted Punjab Cricket Association president I S Bindra as saying that the staging associations of the seven one-day internationals of the upcoming Sri Lanka series would go ahead and market the matches on their own if the BCCI fails to finalise the television rights' contract before the series begins.
Sri Lanka are slated to play seven ODIs, starting with the first at Nagpur on October 25. Mohali, Jaipur, Pune, Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Baroda are the other venues.
Bindra had said the Board's inability to finalise the TV rights' contract last season resulted in huge losses to the players as well as staging associations and the latter are not ready to bear such losses again this time.
The BCCI has invited bids for the rights but a decision has not been made since the Board's Annual General Body Meeting was adjourned without a fixed date of reconvening last month.
The Board's Marketing Committee since then has been given special powers to decide on the bids and is expected to meet in Mumbai this Sunday.
Nair said the PCA was given the rights to market the Challenger Series on their own under "special circumstances" and only because the BCCI was not able to finalise the rights for the entire season including international matches.
"Domestic matches are part of the deal. It is because the matter (of telecast rights) has been in the courts, like it happened last year, that we were not able to finalise it," Nair said.
"Hopefully, we will settle it before the Sri Lanka tour. We have to give certain reports to the court. If we are in a position to independently decide, we will finalise it," Nair said.
Nair also refuted Bindra's charge that the Board had not done enough to market and promote domestic cricket.
"It is not as if we have not marketed the events before. The year before last, both the Challenger Series in Bangalore and the Irani Cup in Chennai had sponsors and was shown on TV," he said.
He also criticised the PCA for not providing financial details of the Challenger Series.
"We would like to say that the event was conducted well but it does not take away the responsibility on the part of PCA to provide the full financial details of the series to the Board," Nair said.
"Normally this is not the way. In spite of our good efforts we have not been able to get detailed financial information from the PCA.
"We have written to them. Hopefully, we will get a reply."
