The Pakistan Cricket Board is playing hardball after India’s refusal to visit for Champions trophy but it is also treading a very thin line and risks losing millions of dollars.
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The Pakistan Cricket Board has taken a tough stand against India’s refusal to travel to its country for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy or any possibility of the tournament being moved out to some other nation. PCB, however, is treading a very thin line as it risks losing millions of dollars. It’s quite difficult to imagine an ICC tournament without Team India, considering the financial might it wields.
ICC heavily reliant on Team India for revenue
Multiple reports over the years have stated that BCCI accounts for close to 80% of ICC’s total revenue. Even the mega $3 billion media rights that ICC earned from Star Sports for a four-year deal from 2024 to 2027 of global events are built on Team India’s popularity and the value that India vs Pakistan matches bring.
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In such a scenario, the ICC will be making all the efforts needed to make PCB agree to a
Hybrid Model where India’s matches take place in the UAE. A similar arrangement was made during the Asia Cup 2023 where India played its matches in Sri Lanka and not in original hosts Pakistan. The PCB, however,
is currently playing hardball and it has been reported that the Pakistan government has asked the PCB not to agree to a Hybrid Model.
“It’s off the table. The PCB will naturally follow government guidance,” a source told Cricbuzz.
PCB stares at mega loss if CT is moved out of Paksitan
In such a scenario, the ICC could be forced to host the tournament outside Pakistan. It has been reported that
South Africa could be the new destination but a source has leaked that ICC has still not made any move towards making South Africa the new hosts of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy. The reports also say that Pakistan could
boycott the Champions Trophy if the tournament is moved out of the country.
Another option in front of the ICC is to postpone the tournament.
In case of postponement or Pakistan withdrawing from the tournament, the PCB is set to lose big bucks. As per Cricbuzz, the PCB could lose 65 million hosting rights. This will come as a big blow because the cricket board has already spent a huge amount of money on renovating stadiums in Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi.
Meanwhile, The PCB has asked the ICC for
written clarification from BCCI as to why they do not want to visit Pakistan for the Champions Trophy.
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