Cricket news, Pakistan boycott match vs India, financial cost, fixtures, video

Pakistan’s decision to boycott its T20 World Cup match against rivals India could reportedly cost world cricket more than a quarter of a billion dollars.

On Sunday, Pakistan’s Shahbaz Sharif-led coalition government announced that its national cricket team would not play the T20 World Cup group-stage match against India at Colombo’s R.Premadasa Stadium on February 15.

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The announcement came after days of speculation about Pakistan’s involvement in the ICC tournament. The previous week, Pakistan cricket chief Mohsin Naqvi threatened an outright boycott following the ICC’s decision to reject Bangladesh’s demands to relocate their matches to Sri Lanka over security fears. Bangladesh was subsequently cut from the tournament and replaced by Scotland.

Naqvi, who supported Bangladesh’s request for an alternate venue, accused the ICC of “double standards” having permitted India not to travel to Pakistan for last year’s Champions Trophy, calling it an “injustice”.

It is currently unclear whether Pakistan will be sanctioned for the move, with the ICC urging the PCB to consider the “significant and long-term implications” if the boycott were to go ahead.

“This decision is not in the interest of the global game or the welfare of fans worldwide, including millions in Pakistan,” the ICC said in a statement.

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Pakistan and India, who have not played any bilateral cricket since 2012 due to political tensions, only face each other in multi-nation events, but their matches remain the cornerstone of broadcast rights value for ICC tournaments. It is estimated that 206 million people watched last year’s Champions Trophy match between the two nations.

According to report from The Age, each game between India and Pakistan staged from 2023-2027, as part of the US$3 billion deal struck between the ICC and host broadcaster JioStar, has an estimated value of around US$250 million (AU$358 million). It’s why the ICC has manipulated scheduling to ensure the two nations have met during the group stage of every ICC men’s event across the last 13 years.

“It’s all about maximising eyeballs and tournament revenue,” Sami Ul Hasan, the former head of media and communications at the ICC, told Al Jazeera last year.

“When the ICC plans a global event, organisers do not consider rankings or any other factors. It’s all about making sure India and Pakistan play against each other at least once.”

The 2026 T20 World Cup playing conditions are yet to be released, but India is expected to be awarded two points if Pakistan forfeits the match, while net run rate could also be impacted. The ICC may also decide to hand down a more severe off-field sanction.

During the 2024 edition of the event, the playing conditions stated: “The net run rate of the defaulting team shall be affected in that the full 20 overs of the defaulting team’s innings in such forfeited match shall be taken into account in calculating the average runs per over of the defaulting team over the course of the relevant portion of the competition.”

Pakistan, facing associate nations Namibia, Netherlands and the USA during the pools, is still expected to qualify for the Super Eights stage , but their chances of progressing to the second stage of the tournament could be jeopardised if there are any washouts or shock defeats.

Multiple matches staged in Sri Lanka during last year’s Women’s World Cup were abandoned due to weather – derailing New Zealand’s campaign – while Pakistan famously lost to the USA during the 2024 tournament.

There also remains uncertainty around what would happen if India and Pakistan met in the finals, with fans understandably questioning whether Pakistan would once again forfeit in the tournament decider.

“The game and the players are being used for political ends,” former England captain Michael Atherton told The Times.

“The financial consequences for the broadcasters, and, therefore, in turn, for the game will be substantial in the immediate term as the India v Pakistan game is the most lucrative of any in world cricket.

“JioStar is likely to use the leverage of all this uncertainty to push down prices in the future, which will hit the less financially secure countries (basically all but India, England and Australia) including Pakistan.

“The international game continues to fracture and weaken, as franchise cricket advances and strengthens.”

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