 "India vs Pakistan back on: The Rs 1,500 crore reason behind Pakistan’s T20 World Cup U-turn")
Pakistan’s decision to withdraw the boycott of the India match in the T20 World Cup 2026 will help the International Cricket Council (ICC) avoid losses running into 1000s of crores. The Pakistan government on Monday made a U-turn, directing the cricket team to play against India on 15 February in Colombo.
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According to a report in the Indian Express, the ICC will avert a potential loss of around USD 174 million (around Rs 1,576 crore) with the India vs Pakistan match now finally taking place.
How IND vs PAK would help ICC save Rs 1500 crore
In other words, the 15 February match would help the ICC generate a whopping Rs 1,576 crore, which will eventually be distributed among board members, helping the growth of the sport.
One of the major components of this estimated figure is advertising revenue. A 10-second advertisement slot during the India vs Pakistan match could be sold for Rs 40 lakh (around $ 44,200). The overall ad revenue from this match for the official broadcaster could be around Rs 200 crore to Rs 250 crore (around $22-27.6 million).
Additional revenue losses would be borne due to the lack of ticket sales and sponsorship deals tied to this one particular match.
It has also been reported that four guaranteed India-Pakistan matches in the current broadcast deal cycle (2024-2027) could lead to $1 billion (around Rs 9,056 crore) in revenue for the broadcaster, eventually making the whole operation profitable. This money is then shared with ICC, which is shared among member Boards, including the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
Pakistan had initially decided to boycott the India match as a mark of protest against the ICC after it removed Bangladesh from the T20 World Cup. Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland after they refused to play their matches in India, weeks before the tournament.
Quick Reads
View AllBut Pakistan eventually made a U-turn after the ICC decided not to take any action against Bangladesh for refusing to play in India.
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