T20 World Cup: USD 250 mn? Counting the cost of an India-Pak game

On Monday, 2 February, the cricket world was left counting the cost of just one match — the India-Pakistan league match of the ICC T20 World Cup — which looks like a non-starter as of now, unless Pakistan rethinks its decision to forfeit the blockbuster on 15 February in Colombo, with the legendary Sunil Gavaskar expecting a U-turn.

An India–Pakistan game in an ICC tournament is estimated to generate around “$250 million US (over Rs 2,200 crore)” in revenue, and the absence of this fixture from the upcoming showpiece is expected to result in massive financial losses for all stakeholders. This, at a time when official broadcasters JioStar are trying to re-negotiate their $3 billion deal with the world governing body as the saleability of international cricket is at a crossroads owing to burgeoning T20 franchise leagues.

Should Pakistan stick to its stance, it risks forfeiting millions in revenue, while a walkover would also inflict significant financial damage on JioStar, with advertising losses estimated at between Rs 200 crore and Rs 250 crore, given that a 10-second commercial slot during the big game can fetch as much as Rs 40 lakh. Though India will receive full points in the event of a walkover provided the team is physically present on match day, the ICC still holds the power to levy financial penalties on PCB.

The Sydney Morning Herald, citing industry sources familiar with confidential negotiations, reported that each India–Pakistan contest is valued at around USD 250 million, driven by an audience exceeding a billion viewers.  

The ICC’s response to Pakistan’s announcement also reflected the unmatched importance of the fixture: ‘’This position of selective participation is difficult to reconcile with the fundamental premise of a global sporting event where all qualified teams are expected to compete on equal terms per the event schedule,’’ the governing body said in a carefully worded statement.

An upbeat Pakistan team, fresh off a 3-0 sweep of Australia in a preparatory T20 series at home, has left for Colombo to play the other matches in the tournament, which begins on 7 February.

Meanwhile, there is a mixed reaction within the cricketing fraternity of both countries. While someone like Gavaskar felt there would be a U-turn, former Test opener Aakash Chopra found Pakistan's stance hypocritical.

In Pakistan, the likes of Wasim Akram saw no reason why Pakistan needed to boycott the game since it was playing at a neutral venue as part of the hybrid model, while there were hardliners like former skipper Rashid Latif and Basit Ali egging on the PCB to ‘strike’ during this moment.

The first reaction from BCCI came from vice-president Rajeev Shukla, a Rajya Sabha MP from Congress, who said the board will speak to the ICC before making any comment. “ICC has issued a big statement, they have spoken about sportsmanship. We completely agree with the ICC. BCCI won’t make any comments on it until we speak with the ICC.”

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, an ardent cricket enthusiast, called it “disgraceful” that sport has been politicised by both sides across the border. He felt that Bangladesh seamer Mustafizur Rehman should not have been denied his IPL contract for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and described the episode as “most unfortunate”.

Tharoor felt Bangladesh’s response was an overreaction and added that Pakistan’s move reflected an attempt to show solidarity with Bangladesh. He warned that the situation was spiralling out of control. ‘’I honestly think this is now a wake-up call for all concerned to contact each other on an emergency basis, the ICC could be the platform for it — just say, let’s call off this nonsense,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi described Pakistan’s decision as a “slap on the face of the sports minister of India”. She said the BCCI had been repeatedly urged to cancel matches with Pakistan earlier, but those calls were ignored in the name of commitments.

‘’It is a slap on the face of the sports minister of India and the BCCI. Despite being the strongest, richest body in the ICC, they are being boycotted today. India couldn’t take a stance when it should have. I am sure that, for penalty, fine they will have to taken an IMF loan or the World Bank loan. But they have taken stance. India was found wanting,’’ she said.