NEW DELHI, May 5: India’s cricket chiefs on Thursday sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s intervention to prevent the 2006 Champions Trophy tournament from being shifted to arch-rivals Pakistan. The ICC had said in March that the biennial limited-overs tournament could be taken away from India and handed to Pakistan if the Indian government did not exempt the event from tax.

The government imposes income tax on all earnings, including gate receipts and sponsorships, for international sporting events held in the country.

Indian cricket board president Ranbir Singh Mahendra and former ICC chief Jagmohan Dalmiya met Prime Minister Singh here on Thursday in a bid to resolve the impasse.

“The Prime Minister has assured us he will look into the matter,” Dalmiya told reporters after the 15-minute meeting at Parliament House.—AFP