The decision taken by India to not travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025 has reignited the tensions between the two countries. There was a lot of chatter surrounding India’s participation in the tournament but on Sunday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) informed Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) about India’s decision. Earlier, India did suggest a ‘hybrid’ solution which involved their national side playing the games in Dubai but it was rejected by Pakistan. Media reports have suggested that Pakistan are exploring options which include hosting the tournament without India or boycotting it.
A scenario where either India or Pakistan decide to not take part in the Champions Trophy 2025 is bad news for the ICC. ICC has already secured broadcast rights till 2027, amounting to $3.2 billion and expected an additional $1 billion from other streams. Both teams command a massive fan base and their absence will be a huge blow to the viewership as well as popularity of the competition.
While India remain the highest revenue generator for ICC, even Pakistan’s absence can be a problem.
According to the ICC schedule, India will host four international events between 2024 and 2031 – Women’s World Cup in 2025, T20 World Cup in 2026, ICC Champions Trophy in 2029, and Cricket World Cup in 2031. If Pakistan decide to not send their team for the competitions as a retaliation for India’s Champions Trophy refusal, it will be a bit blow to the viewership of the tournaments.
The two teams have not play a bilateral series for more than a decade due to political tensions and the only time they face each other is during international competitions. That provides a huge boost to the popularity of these games and viewership numbers make it a clear favourite among the cricket fans.
“The importance of these fixtures was underscored by the record-breaking 173 million Indian TV viewers and 225 million digital viewers during the 2023 World Cup,” Cricket Pakistan reported.
Even if Pakistan agree to the ‘hybrid’ model, there may be a problem with the funding allocated for the tournament. According to a PTI report, a source revealed that USD 70 million was allocated for the competition with only USD 4.5 million kept for additional expenses by ICC.
In that case, if Pakistan agree to moving India’s matches to Dubai, that will add more expenses as well travel time for the teams. While the ICC can increase their budget in case of a change in plans, such a situation may end up causing logistical problems for all teams including India and Pakistan.
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