It was no surprise that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has refused to allow the Indian Cricket Team to travel to Pakistan for the 2025 Champions Trophy.
The Champion’s Trophy is the first major international tournament Pakistan has hosted since the 1996 Cricket World Cup. Even though that was a joint effort with India and Sri Lanka, most of the tournament’s matches including the final were played in Lahore. More significantly, it is the first such opportunity Pakistan has had since the 2009 terror attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team, which paralysed international cricket in Pakistan.
It has been a hard road since, but the PCB has managed to foster the confidence of the international cricketing community. The HBL PSL has played a major role in this, and all major test nations including Australia, England, South Africa, and New Zealand have toured Pakistan multiple times in recent years. However, India has stood out as the exception in this. Cricket ties between India and Pakistan have remained strained, with the two rivals only squaring off during international tournaments.
It is a shame. The India-Pakistan rivalry remains the biggest ticket item in world cricket, and both countries could cash in on this. However, the BCCI with its big money has consistently proven to be a bully in world cricket. It is particularly bad for Pakistan. International cricket, especially major tournaments, are the biggest sources of revenue for most cricket boards.
Just take a look at the PCB’s revenue sources for 2023 when it hosted the regional Asia Cup. Even though India refused to tour Pakistan for this tournament as well, resulting in joint hosting with Sri Lanka, it was a major earner for the PCB. The financial year 2022-23 was the first time since 2018 that the HBL PSL was not the biggest source of income for the cricket board. Instead, the biggest source of revenue for the board was international cricket hosted by Pakistan. The total revenue for the HBL PSL for 2023 came out to Rs 3.55 billion. In comparison, the revenue Pakistan made from international tournaments was nearly Rs 5.5 billion. Of this, as the host of the Asia Cup, the PCB received a preparation fee of more than $ 3.57 million (around Rs 99.4 crores), and saw an uptick in broadcasting revenue of around a billion rupees as well.
Pakistan is now set to make some big bucks from hosting the Champions Trophy. India refusing to play Pakistan could hurt this revenue stream, especially if India plays its games in the UAE or some other country. But the PCB should remember, they have a bargaining chip in their hand: If Pakistan refuses to play India unless it is in Pakistan, the BCCI will also lose out on the revenue from a Pak-India game, which often garners over a billion viewers. As of now, the PCB does seem to be taking a hard stance on the issue. One would hope they will continue to hold their nerve in front of the blustering and bullying of Jay Shah and the ICC.
