India has withdrawn from its proposed tour of Zimbabwe, with an ongoing feud between the Board of Control for Cricket in India and host broadcaster Ten Sports cited as one of the main reasons behind the decision.
Zimbabwe was due to welcome India for three one-day internationals and two Twenty20 matches from July 10.
Zimbabwe Cricket cited “persistent problems with the host broadcaster” as the reason for the postponement while, in a statement, Zimbabwe Cricket chairman Wilson Manase and chief executive Wilfred Mukondiwa said they were hopeful the tour could be rescheduled for next year.
Ten Sports is owned by the Essel Group conglomerate, with which the BCCI has long been on frosty terms. Indian billionaire Subhash Chandra is the owner of the Essel Group, which most recently clashed with the BCCI and the International Cricket Council when reports emerged in April over its plans to establish a breakaway international Twenty20 cricket league.
Chandra responded to being shut-out of negotiations for the rights to India games between 2004 and 2008 by setting up the now-defunct Indian Cricket League in 2007, a competition that preceded the Indian Premier League T20 competition but was marginalised by the Indian board and folded amid financial turmoil.
Indian media said the BCCI’s continued refusal to do business with pay-television broadcaster Ten Sports also casts doubts over India’s remaining touring schedule for 2015.
It is due to play three Test matches against Sri Lanka in August and September. Sri Lanka Cricket has previously worked with Ten Sports, which was the only bidder in an unsuccessful tender for rights to the series earlier this month.
India is set to close the year by playing Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates. The Pakistan Cricket Board in April awarded media rights to the country’s public-service broadcaster PTV and Ten Sports. The rights were awarded for five seasons, from 2015-16 to 2019-20.