India and Champions Trophy, a thorny relationship

Indian cricket team has had its fair share of memorable moments on the pitch in the history of the ICC Champions Trophy. However, off the field, it has not always been a pleasant story. The present tussle over India's participation in the 2017 edition aroused out of a perceived injustice to India in the ICC's new revenue model is a is just another chapter in it.
In 2002, India shared the Champions Trophy with hosts Sri Lanka after rain played spoilsport on the day of the final and the reserve day. Sourav Ganguly's India were clearly the best side in the tournament but prior to the competition, there were a lot of distractions.
First, there was the controversy regarding a clause in the Players' Terms, a contract which had to be signed by the players to take part in the tournament. The ICC's commercial arm had an agreement with its sponsors which imposed restrictions on players having personal contracts with companies whose interests are in competition or conflict with that of the main sponsors of the event. Almost all the senior players of the Indian team, including Sachin Tendulkar, Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid and others, objected to it as it would bar them from endorsing products of competing companies 30 days either side of ICC events such as the Champions Trophy or the World Cup.
The BCCI, led by Jagmohan Dalmiya, coaxed the players to sign the contract, with a promise to sort out the matter at a later stage and saved India from the shame of fielding a second-string side. Still, further trouble brewed before the tournament kicked off in Colombo.
India were sponsored by Sahara India Group at that time but on ICC's request, India had to remove the Sahara logo on the players' clothing because of a product conflict with South African Airlines (SAA), one of the tournament's official sponsors. This even prompted Sahara to withdraw from the team's sponsorship for a short while.
Though India hosted the 2006 edition, it was more out of obligation as the Indian board believed it was a financial burden on the host nation and wanted the ICC to scrap the Champions Trophy after that. And then there was the low-point of the then BCCI president Sharad Pawar being nudged off the podium by victorious Australian players during the presentation ceremony after the final.
India had a barren run in the Champions Trophy after 2002 till the 2013 edition, which they won. In May 2013, a month before the tournament, former Indian spinner and current commentator Laxman Sivaramakrishnan was elected as a players' representative on the ICC Cricket Committee, replacing Australian Tim May. There were accusations from the Federation of International Cricketers Association (FICA) that it was a result of BCCI forcing a re-vote after May had won initially. This apparently did not go down well with the BCCI and there were rumours of India pulling out from the Champions Trophy in England.