PCB–ICC backchannel talks on as England, Australia fume over Pakistan’s India boycott
If Pakistan doesn’t change its stand, losses from their no show against India will be recovered by ICC
Mumbai: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is yet to formally write to the International Cricket Council (ICC) following up on its government’s social media post on Sunday that the team will not be taking field in the league match against India in the T20 World Cup.
A day after their bombshell announcement, “there have been some backchannel talks between the PCB and the ICC”, an official in the know of things told HT.
A line in ICC’s statement on Sunday had left open room for negotiations. “The ICC expects the PCB to explore a mutually acceptable resolution, which protects the interests of all stakeholders,” the statement said.
The teams are scheduled to play their Group A match in Colombo on February 15.
The nature of the talks, whether they have been direct or routed through intermediaries, is not known. With the money-spinning India-Pakistan clash in limbo, influential member boards in the ICC led by England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Australia (CA) are known to have privately expressed their displeasure with PCB over the turn of events. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) understandably has had no communication with PCB.
“The ICC has issued a big statement, they have spoken about sportsmanship. We completely agree with the ICC. The BCCI won’t make any comments on it until we speak with the ICC,” Rajiv Shukla, BCCI vice-president, told reporters on Monday.
{{/usCountry}}“The ICC has issued a big statement, they have spoken about sportsmanship. We completely agree with the ICC. The BCCI won’t make any comments on it until we speak with the ICC,” Rajiv Shukla, BCCI vice-president, told reporters on Monday.
{{/usCountry}}With less than a fortnight to go for the India-Pakistan clash, there could still be a resolution. In the absence of it, a farcical situation may play out where India have to make the trip to Colombo, Pakistan do not turn up and their league points are forfeited.
{{/usCountry}}With less than a fortnight to go for the India-Pakistan clash, there could still be a resolution. In the absence of it, a farcical situation may play out where India have to make the trip to Colombo, Pakistan do not turn up and their league points are forfeited.
{{/usCountry}}The ICC has the option of calling a board meeting to take a collective view against PCB’s unilateral decision, but has refrained from doing so as yet in view of the ongoing talks. For the record, PCB has not written to ICC wanting to categorise this as a government diktat, but is unlikely to escape sanctions. There could be wide ranging implications, unless PCB engages in constructive talks.
{{/usCountry}}The ICC has the option of calling a board meeting to take a collective view against PCB’s unilateral decision, but has refrained from doing so as yet in view of the ongoing talks. For the record, PCB has not written to ICC wanting to categorise this as a government diktat, but is unlikely to escape sanctions. There could be wide ranging implications, unless PCB engages in constructive talks.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier, when the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) refused to budge from its stand that it will take part in the World Cup only if the matches were moved out of India, the ICC board voted them out of the competition and called up Scotland as replacement.
The commercial worth of the India-Pakistan contest is still being computed. If the PCB sticks to its stand, ICC is sure to pin the blame on it to bear the losses arising from the boycott. “An independent survey could be conducted to draw opinions from commercial partners on what they stand to lose, which becomes recoverable from the PCB,” another official in the know said.
A number of differing figures have been doing the rounds over the worth of the India-Pakistan tie in the ICC media rights cycle. At the time of bidding, no match-specific valuation is worked out.
For 2024-27 world events, ICC had secured a whopping $3 billion deal from the Indian market. If the T20 World Cup is computed to be worth $750 million on average, the India-Pakistan clash alone could be in the range of $100 million, according to one industry estimate. Only the knockout matches – two semis and the final – and the India matches garner significant viewership, among which the Pakistan clash unfailingly delivers.
It is this bargaining tool that the PCB wants to weaponise against ICC, with political leverage at play too. PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi is also the interior minister of Pakistan.
With Naqvi at the helm – he also heads the Asian Cricket Council – cricketing relations between the two countries have nosedived as was evident in last year’s Asia Cup.
The Pakistan cricket team reached Colombo on Monday to prepare for their tournament opener on February 7 against Netherlands. Pakistan will be playing their first warm-up match against Ireland in Colombo on Thursday.
“That is not our decision. We can’t do anything. What our government, our (PCB) chairman says, we have to do that,” skipper Salman Agha told reporters before flying out to Colombo when asked about the boycott call.
