 "Pahalgam attack: Here's how India's complete boycott of Pakistan cricket team will affect PCB")
Relations between India and Pakistan have hit an all-time low following the deadly terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed. India has accused Pakistan for orchestrating the deadliest terror attack on civilians since the 26/11 attacks in 2008 in Mumbai, and has since suspended the Indus Waters Treaty besides closing the Attari-Wagah checkpost and suspending all Pakistani visas.
Pakistan, meanwhile, continues to deny involvement in the incident despite having the reputation of being a breeding ground for terror groups and has responded by suspending the Simla Agreement besides closing the Pakistani airspace for Indian aircrafts.
The breakdown in relations due to the Pahalgam attacks has also been met with outrage in the world of sports, where several former cricketers including ex-India captain Sourav Ganguly have called for the Men in Blue to boycott their arch-rivals completely .
And in this case, a boycott means no Indo-Pak contests in ICC events either, including World Cups.
How would a complete boycott by India affect cricket in Pakistan?
An Indian boycott of the Pakistan cricket team wouldn’t be anything less than a nightmare for broadcasters. When it comes to the ‘Gentleman’s Game’, there isn’t a game that is a bigger draw than a showdown between the two South Asian arch-rivals, whose rivalry is considered the fiercest across the world of sport.
And the economics justify the hype behind Indo-Pak cricketing contests; according to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), matches between the two nations have generated an estimated Rs 10,000 crore ($1.3 billion) in the last two decades. Companies, additionally, were shelling out Rs 50 lakh for a 10-second ad spot during the Champions Trophy meeting between the bitter rivals in Dubai in February.
“The India-Pakistan match has the power to break through advertiser inertia and budget constraints,” Sam Balsara, chairman of media and marketing firm Madison World, was quoted as saying by The Economic Times.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsHow Pakistani cricket depends on Indian funds
The entire economy of the Pakistan Cricket Board is dependent on the funds that they receive from the International Cricket Council in their current revenue sharing model for the 2024-27 cycle . Cricketer-turned-commentator Ramiz Raja, who had served as PCB chairman for a little over a year until December 2022, had admitted to the same effect in a public statement, stating that India could make Pakistani cricket collapse if it wanted to.
“The ICC is a politicised body divided between the Asian and Western blocs and 90 per cent of its revenues are generated from India. It is frightening,” Raja had said in October 2021, when he was a month into his job as PCB chief.
“In a way India’s business houses are running Pakistan cricket and if tomorrow the Indian PM decides he will not allow any funding to Pakistan, this cricket board can collapse,” he added.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India receives $231 million, or 38.5 per cent, through this model. England and Wales Cricket Board and Cricket Australia, the other members of cricket’s so-called ‘Big Three’, earn a little over 6 per cent. The PCB is the only other board that earns over 5 (5.75) per cent, which amounts to $34.51 million.
While the BCCI gets the lion’s share of revenue, it contributes a lot more to the revenue that it takes , with India estimated to be contributing 70 to 80 per cent of ICC’s total earnings. Broadcast deals that have been reaching dizzying levels in recent years are key to the ICC’s earnings and India’s vast cricket-loving population plays a key role on that front.
The Ashes sure is historic and just as fiercely contested as those between India and Pakistan. When it comes to their financial impact though, England vs Australia isn’t close to the two South Asian neighbours.
Taking Indo-Pak contests out of the equation thus is bound to affect ICC’s revenue, given how broadcasters demand the two teams to be grouped together in global as well as in Asian events. Take that out, and Pakistan indirectly are set to lose money through the hit that the Dubai-based global body will suffer.
While it might not bring the PCB and cricket in Pakistan to a screeching halt, it certainly will be more than just a minor inconvenience.
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
