According to a PCB source on Tuesday, the Pakistan Cricket Board has been cautioned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) that it could be subject to legal action from JioStar, the official broadcaster of the T20 World Cup, for boycotting the match against India on February 15.
Pakistan’s government ordered them to boycott the game in Colombo on February 15, but they haven’t yet formally told the ICC the reasons for it. As per reports, there is a chance that the ICC will pay the broadcasters out of Pakistan’s whole yearly revenue share, which is approximately $35 million.
Despite consulting the board’s legal experts prior to informing PM Shehbaz Sharif on the matter last week, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi is preparing for some dire repercussions, according to a PCB source.
“If Pakistan doesn’t relent and play against India, not only will they face financial penalties, perhaps a lawsuit from broadcasters but also any efforts to go to the ICC Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) are likely to fail,” PTI quoted a PCB source as saying.
The ICC’s DRC is an internal body that does not consider appeals of its own board’s judgments.
“The PCB might face problems regardless of their government directive to not play India as they are playing all their matches at a neutral venue (Sri Lanka) as per their wishes and not in India. Secondly, while the Indian government has not given permission to its team to play in Pakistan, it has not stopped them from playing against Pakistan at neutral venues in Asia Cup or ICC events even after the May conflict,” PTI quoted another PCB source as saying.
Although the PCB has not yet sent a formal letter to the ICC, the boycott is perceived as a show of support for Bangladesh following their expulsion.
“When the ICC signed its four-year deal with the broadcaster for all ICC events, the contract included Pakistan and India matches based on which the broadcaster made the payments to the ICC. So the broadcaster will be within its rights to take the PCB and ICC to court over a major breach of the contract,” the source explained.
According to reliable sources, the PCB sought help from other member boards but was unable to get any.
Some believe that Naqvi, who is also Pakistan’s interior minister, may simply change his mind after Bangladesh’s general elections on February 12 and a democratic government replaces the current one led by Mohammed Yunus.
“Naqvi more than a cricket administrator is a politician, who is not one bit bothered about the welfare of the national team. He is trying to score a brownie point and could well flip once elections are held on February 12. There would still be two days before the India game and things could just change. Else he knows that Pakistan could be ostracised,” PTI quoted yet another source tracking Pakistan cricket as saying.
