The Pakistan v India T20 World Cup fixture remains in doubt on the eve of the tournament with International Cricket Council sources telling the Guardian they expect the dispute to go down to the wire before their scheduled meeting in Colombo next weekend.
Intensive negotiations are continuing behind the scenes after the Pakistan government triggered a crisis last weekend by announcing their national team would not take the field against India on 15 February – a boycott that could cost the ICC a huge rebate in a fixture worth around $500m (£367m) in media rights.
Pakistan’s boycott is a response to the ICC’s expulsion of Bangladesh, who were thrown out of the tournament after refusing to travel to India, who are co-hosting the 20-team competition with Sri Lanka.
The ICC has not commented since issuing a statement last weekend which urged the Pakistan Cricket Board to reconsider due to the “long-term implications for cricket in its own country and the impact on the global cricket ecosystem,” and they will begin the tournament as planned against the Netherlands on Saturday.
Pakistan will automatically forfeit the points from the match if they fail to turn up in Colombo, as well as taking a major hit on net run-rate which could determine qualification from the group, while the ICC would also impose additional sanctions such as a large fine and possible further points deduction if the boycott goes ahead.
The ICC has yet to begin formal disciplinary action however, as it focuses on persuading Pakistan to relent, with deputy chair Imran Khwaja and Mubashir Usmani of the Emirates Cricket Board in direct discussions with the PCB chairman, Mohsin Naqvi.
The ICC chair, Jay Shah, has so far stayed out of the talks given his recent past as secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, and close links to a government in which his father Amit is the long-serving home minister.
The dispute could have major financial ramifications for all of cricket, as the ICC’s $3bn Indian media rights deal with JioStar is largely predicated on India facing Pakistan every year in a global tournament, meaning each one is worth roughly $500m. A cancellation of next week’s fixture would breach the contract and leave the ICC liable for a rebate.
A source with knowledge of the deal disclosed that India-Pakistan matches represent around two-thirds of the value of the four-year JioStar deal, which expires next year and is unlikely to be extended on the same terms given current relations among the Asian countries.
Any reduction in the value of the ICC’s media rights, or a rebate from the current deal, would have major ramifications for smaller Test nations such as West Indies and New Zealand, as well as Pakistan, as around 70% of their total revenue is understood to come from the ICC.
