West Indies earn zero from India T20I series as CWI chief Dehring blasts 'palpably unfair' revenue model

CWI chief says West Indies get no cut of broadcasting millions from India tour

Cricket West Indies (CWI) CEO Chris Dehring has launched a scathing critique of the financial architecture underpinning bilateral cricket, revealing that the Caribbean board will earn nothing from the ongoing T20I series against India even as the hosts bank millions in broadcast revenue.

The T20I series is currently locked at 2-2, with Shai Hope's century in Hyderabad keeping the visitors alive. Yet Dehring, speaking to The Scoop by Wisden Cricket, stressed that the result on the field matters far less to CWI's balance sheet than the location of the matches.

"West Indies cricket receives nothing in this case, because the series is being played in India," Dehring said. "A series that could generate $20 million to $30 million in India brings West Indies cricket no revenue."

The 1997 vote that 'signed the demise' of West Indies cricket

Dehring traced the structural imbalance to a 1997 decision by ICC member countries to overhaul cricket's financial model. Before that change, host nations paid visiting teams a guaranteed touring fee — a system that often proved more lucrative for the West Indies than hosting at home.

"To understand how this happened, you have to go back to 1997," he said. "I was fortunate, or unfortunate, to be around when the ICC member countries voted to change the financial model that underpinned world cricket. Until then, West Indies was a very attractive team, and everybody wanted us to tour. We would receive a touring fee, which was often worth more than we could earn by hosting a series in the Caribbean."

Under the revised arrangement, the host of a bilateral series retains all revenue from its broadcasting rights. Dehring argued this entrenched a gulf between large markets and smaller nations.

"That meant India could retain the revenues generated by a population of one and a half billion people, while West Indies could retain whatever revenues we could generate in Antigua, with its population of around 100,000, or St Kitts, with around 30,000," he said. "It was palpably unfair. We were outvoted nine to one by the ICC member countries. At the time, I said that this decision had effectively signed the demise of West Indies cricket because it took away our main source of income."

ICC's own blueprint acknowledges the problem

The concerns raised by Dehring echo findings from the ICC's own strategic review. On September 28, the ICC was reported to be preparing to table a McKinsey & Company blueprint aimed at building a $10 billion cricket economy, with a central thrust of reducing the governing body's dependence on broadcast revenues. The report noted that with only a limited pool of major broadcasters worldwide — and in India, "virtually a single dominant company" — fresh avenues such as corporate sponsorship, data monetisation and mobile gaming were needed.

The concentration of broadcast wealth in India was further underlined on October 5, when it was reported that the ICC had shelved plans for a World Club Championship until 2031 after the so-called Big Three blocked new tournaments. Reporting noted that Disney Star paid $3.1 billion for the ICC's rights in India between 2024 and 2027, before merging with Viacom 18 to form JioStar — a consolidation that removed competition from the market. The Indian deal contributes the vast majority of the ICC's $3.5 billion global broadcast revenues and cannot be replaced from elsewhere.

For Dehring, the arithmetic remains stark: until the model changes, a marquee tour of cricket's largest market will continue to deliver zero to the visitors who make it possible.