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Sports Reporter
DIFFERENCES between the richest cricket body in the world and a powerful media outfit over broadcasting rights could jeopardise India’s tour of Zimbabwe for two Twenty20 international matches and three One-day internationals (ODIs) set for Harare Sports Club between July 7 and July 19. Ten Sports, which is owned by the Essel group, has the broadcasting rights for cricket in Zimbabwe, but the media group also has a strained relationship with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for proposing a parallel league to rival the lucrative Indian Premier League.

The BCCI has given Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) time to sort out the broadcasting issue with the tour likely to be postponed to 2016 if Ten Sports stays with the television rights.

However, ZC issued a press statement yesterday assuring cricket fans that the row should be resolved before the tour as they are in constant contact with both the BCCI and Ten Sports.

The statement said ZC chairman Wilson Manase and chief executive officer Wilfred Mukondiwa will discuss the contentious issues with their BCCI counterparts on the sidelines of the International Cricket Council (ICC) annual conference that starts today and ends on June 26 in Bridgetown, Barbados.

“If the matters take too long to resolve, ZC and the BCCI might mutually agree to push the tour to next year,” said Manase.

Manase also dispelled reports that India will encounter difficulties in securing visas for their players and officials on arrival in Harare saying ZC had not yet approached immigration officials about the tour, as the two boards are still working on the tour’s memorandum of understanding.

“Cricket is a national sport and ZC enjoys a cordial relationship with all relevant government offices so the acquisition of visas isn’t an issue. The substantive issues are what we’ll discuss in Barbados,” Manase said.

If the Indian incoming tour does go ahead, it will bring smiles on the faces of cricket loving Zimbabweans, who have been deprived of regular premier cricket as Test playing nations shun playing against Zimbabwe for lack of strong competition.

India whitewashed Zimbabwe in five ODIs in their last tour of the country between July and August 2013. Zimbabwe’s last limited-overs assignment ended in disappointment on the field in Pakistan last month when the visitors lost all their completed matches despite some spirited performances with the bat.