Betting on cricket in India is not legal. But if it was, one bet the betting houses would never float these days would be, ‘Will India travel to Pakistan to play a tournament?’. Can you realistically think of anyone who would be willing to bet on a ‘yes’ for that one, anytime soon? Only some very optimistic people in Pakistan and the ICC, perhaps.
Before we venture further into the geo-political quagmire that the governing body of world cricket finds itself in currently, thanks to India’s refusal to travel to Pakistan to play the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy and Pakistan’s belligerent refusal to accept a hybrid model this time, let’s get a few things straight and, therefore, out of the way:
- Despite Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s recent visit to Pakistan to attend a conclave, there hasn’t been a thaw in the relations between the two countries
- India haven’t travelled to Pakistan to play cricket since the 2008 Asia Cup
- The reason India stopped playing cricket in Pakistan and cut off many more ties was the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai in 2008
- If the Pakistan camp thought that their travelling to India to play the ODI World Cup last year was a gesture that would be reciprocated by India for next year’s Champions Trophy, they were mistaken
- And finally, if India are to participate in an ICC tournament where Pakistan are hosts, their matches will have to be played at a neutral venue. And that will mostly be up to the ICC and the Pakistan Cricket Board to work out in order to avoid any potential heartburn.
If you read the above and nodded your head in agreement, then you clearly think differently than people who govern world cricket but who seem to have forgotten the basics of current Indo-Pak cricketing relations. Strange, isn’t it? After all, it was just last year when Pakistan hosted the Asia Cup. Back then, all of India’s matches, including the final, were played in Sri Lanka, as part of a hybrid model. It was a model that was proposed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) itself (after an impasse, of course) so that they could retain hosting rights. It was the right decision for everyone involved.
India Can’t Be Ignored
There’s no crystal ball that can show us what lies ahead, but eventually, this is most likely going to be the solution for the Champions Trophy next year as well. There are enough media reports indicating that back-channel talks are on between the ICC and the PCB to convince the Pakistan camp to agree to organise India’s matches in the UAE. The other alternative is playing the tournament without India. But let’s face it, that is just not viable, financially or otherwise.
However, why wasn’t the ICC more proactive in ensuring that the PCB are fine with a hybrid model, right from the very beginning? Surely, they couldn’t have believed that the Indian team would be given a prompt green signal to travel to Pakistan?
The fact is, a global cricket tournament without India is unfathomable. Indian cricket brings in the maximum amount of money in commercial revenue for the ICC. The new ICC revenue distribution model that was cleared by the ICC board in July last year approved the formula that sees the BCCI take almost 39% of the ICC’s net surplus annual earnings of around $600 million. No other full-member board has even a double-digit percentage share. In the 2024-2027 commercial cycle, the BCCI is earning about $230 million annually from the ICC’s global earnings.
A Mammoth Industry
Media rights sales and viewership are two big parameters that were integral in this formula. It’s no secret that Indian cricket, and also cricket in India, contributes the most to the global cricket economy. Though the exact details were not disclosed, reports claimed that Star India acquired ICC’s India media rights for the 2015-2023 cycle for about $1.8-2 billion. According to the ICC, the deal was “significantly in excess of the ICC’s previous commercial deals.” As per their financial statement and media reports, the ICC earned a record $719 million from the 2023 ODI World Cup held in India. That’s about $162 million more than what they earned from the 2019 ODI World Cup in England. The 2023 edition was also the largest, in terms of overall viewership and spectator turnout. According to an ICC release, it recorded over a trillion viewing minutes—a 38% jump from the last edition in India in 2011.
According to the same release, the final between India and Australia was the most watched ICC match ever, with 87.6 billion live viewing minutes recorded globally. As many as 20 broadcast partners across 209 territories beamed the games worldwide. Even when a tournament is not being played in India, the country matches attract the maximum eyeballs. According to media reports, the India vs South Africa 2024 men’s T20 World Cup final match recorded a peak concurrent viewership of almost 5.3 crore on the Indian host broadcaster’s OTT platform. There’s a reason why India’s matches at global tournaments are almost always scheduled for Sundays or holidays.
In other words, India can afford not to play in Pakistan. It would just be prudent for the ICC and the PCB to discuss a hybrid model for the India matches, just like it was organised for the Asia Cup last year.
Safety Is Foremost
Even so, there’s no doubt that it’s not easy being a part of the Pakistan cricket administration, or even a Pakistan fan who wants to see an India vs Pakistan clash in her or his country. The PCB desperately wants Indian cricketers to play on their soil. Fans in Pakistan are desperate to see and even cheer the likes of Virat, Rohit, Bumrah, Pant and others from stands in Pakistani stadiums. Despite their rather lop-sided rivalry in recent times, India vs Pakistan is still very much an emotional clash, for fans on both sides of the border. But the safety and security of its citizens is the highest priority for any government, despite whatever ‘security and safety experts’ might conclude after visiting empty stadiums and travelling on roads leading up to the venue on non-match days. Neither the PCB nor the ICC can realistically convince the Indian government to allow the cricket team to travel to Pakistan. The writing has been firmly on the wall for a long time now. A plan to work on a hybrid model should have been drawn up a long time ago.
The BCCI is not arbitrarily taking the decision not to play in Pakistan. It’s the Indian government that has the final say. The Indian men’s blind cricket team obtained a no-objection certificate from the sports ministry to participate in the T20 Blind Cricket World Cup in Pakistan, scheduled to be held from November 22 to December 3. But they were not given MEA clearance and have subsequently withdrawn from the tournament. The same decision was taken for the Indian kabaddi team, which was scheduled to play three friendly games in Pakistan, this month. Pakistan is where the Sri Lankan men’s cricket team bus was shot at by 12 gunmen near the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore in 2009. Sure, other countries are touring Pakistan again to play cricket, but India’s equation is different.
The Standoff Continues
Around the ninth of this month, the BCCI informed the ICC that the Indian team will not get government clearance to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy. The final schedule for the tournament was supposed to be announced by November 20, but it wasn’t, and reports from Pakistan indicate that the delay is due to the ICC’s inability to convince the PCB to adopt a hybrid model. Some reports claim that the broadcasters and advertisers in Pakistan are putting pressure on their board, demanding that India play their matches only on Pakistan soil. PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi has confirmed that they are ‘just talking to the ICC’. None of this is surprising. And with just around three months to go now for the tournament, it won’t be surprising if and when the PCB agrees to a hybrid model.
Pakistan were awarded the hosting rights for next year’s Champions Trophy exactly three years ago. That’s how much time the ICC has had to ensure two very important things—Pakistan retaining hosting rights and India’s participation in the tournament. Now, with the clock ticking, and the PCB digging in its heels, they find themselves in an almost impossible situation of their own making.
(The author is a former sports editor and primetime sports news anchor. He is currently a columnist, features writer and stage actor)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
