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The wait continues for any decision regarding the Champions Trophy 2025 following India’s refusal to travel to Pakistan due to security reasons. Several media reports suggested that the tournament will be held in a ‘hybrid’ manner with India playing their matches in Dubai. However, nothing official has been announced by any organisation. Meanwhile, a note that was written by the broadcaster to the International Cricket Council (ICC) revealed how the tournament will be impacted if either India or Pakistan decides to opt out. According to Times Of India, Star India had written to the ICC when the row over the competition started with numbers showing what is at stake with respect to revenue.
While selling their media rights for the period of four years, the ICC decided to sell the India market separately. As a result, the deal with Star India amounted to 90% of their global revenue share.
According to the note, if India decides to opt out of the Champions Trophy, the ICC members will have to forego 90 per cent of the $750 million (total value of the media rights). On the other hand, if Pakistan decides to opt out, the ICC members will have to forego less than 10 per cent of the total amount.
In the report, industry sources said – “The ICC is well within its rights to shift the tournament to any country as long as it is in the best interests of the property (read: Champions Trophy). The decision is not so complicated as it is being made to look”.
“There is no question of the tournament getting cancelled. As for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) saying they will do a quid-pro with India when the Asia Cup arrives, let’s be clear that the current topic is an ICC matter. The Asia Cup is for the Asian Cricket Council to decide. Neither is the federation the same, nor the broadcaster and it’s a completely separate issue for PCB to think about,” sources added.
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