Pakistan’s India World Cup boycott may cost world cricket $250 million
By Daniel Brettig
Pakistan’s decision to forbid its national cricket team from playing against India at the Twenty20 World Cup on February 15 may cost world cricket more than a quarter of a billion dollars and prompt broadcasters to ask urgent questions of the International Cricket Council.
The decision, announced via social media moments after Pakistan completed a 3-0 series sweep over Australia with a 111-run thrashing of Mitchell Marsh's team, follows days of threats related to Bangladesh's exit from the tournament, replaced by Scotland, after it requested to have matches moved out of India.
Pakistan players celebrate the wicket of Matthew Renshaw during their win over Australia in Lahore on Sunday.Credit: Getty Images
That episode had already unsettled the event, but the prospect of Pakistan not fulfilling the fixture against India – arguably the most lucrative sporting contest in the world in terms of broadcast audiences – is a nightmare scenario for organisers.
Partly because they no longer play bilateral matches, the scarcity of games between India and Pakistan are the cornerstone of broadcast rights value for cricket’s global men’s events: A T20 World Cup every two years and a 50-over Cup and Champions Trophy, each every four years.
The most recent deal struck between the ICC and JioStar was worth US$3 billion and ran from 2023 to 2027. According to industry sources with knowledge of confidential negotiations, each game between India and Pakistan over that period has an estimated value of around US$250 million.
The Pakistan government’s call to boycott the pool game against India followed the second of two meetings this week between the PCB chair Mohsin Naqvi and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
“The government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan grants approval to the Pakistan Cricket Team to participate in the ICC World T20 2026, however, the Pakistan Cricket Team shall not take the field in the match scheduled on 15th February 2026 against India,” the post read.
Australia’s Cameron Green hits out against Pakistan in Lahore.Credit: Getty Images
A couple of hours later the ICC, chaired by India’s former board secretary Jay Shah, and whose chief executive is former JioStar executive Sanjog Gupta, rushed out a statement pleading for Pakistan to reconsider. The ICC’s financial and commercial affairs committee is led by the Cricket Australia chair, Mike Baird.
JioStar, which was formed by the merger of Star and Viacom18 in 2024, is majority-owned by Reliance Industries, India’s biggest publicly listed company. Its owners, the Ambani family, also have a global network of T20 franchise teams in India, South Africa, the UAE, England and the United States.
India played Pakistan in New York during the 2024 T20 World Cup. Credit: Getty Images
ICC tournaments are broadcast on Amazon Prime in Australia.
“This position of selective participation is difficult to reconcile with the fundamental premise of a global sporting event where all qualified teams are expected to compete on equal terms per the event schedule,” the ICC said.
“ICC tournaments are built on sporting integrity, competitiveness, consistency and fairness, and selective participation undermines the spirit and sanctity of the competitions.
“While the ICC respects the roles of governments in matters of national policy, this decision is not in the interest of the global game or the welfare of fans worldwide, including millions in Pakistan. The ICC hopes that the PCB will consider the significant and long-term implications for cricket in its own country as this is likely to impact the global cricket ecosystem, which it is itself a member and beneficiary of.”
The men’s T20 World Cup is scheduled for February 7 to March 8, jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
Pakistan's board and government have been threatening action of this kind ever since Bangladesh's request to move matches out of India was rebuffed. That request was sparked by the January 3 removal of Bangladeshi bowler Mustafizur Rahman from the Indian Premier League, where he was contracted to play for the Kolkata Knight Riders, amid political tensions between India and Bangladesh.
At the time, the ICC rejected the Bangladesh government’s advice that the national team should not have to travel to India. These exchanges took place a year after India’s government barred the Indian team from travelling to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy, compelling the ICC to move all its matches to the UAE. India then won the tournament.
That turn of events led to an agreement that in future event Pakistan would not be required to play Cup matches in India, leading to their games for this event being scheduled for Sri Lanka. During the recent Asia Cup, India declined to shake hands with Pakistan’s players and also refused to accept the tournament trophy from Naqvi after the final.
“During this period, the ICC has shared detailed inputs, including independent security assessments, comprehensive venue-level security plans and formal assurances from the host authorities, all of which consistently concluded that there is no credible or verifiable threat to the safety or security of the Bangladesh team in India,” the ICC had said.
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