Following Pakistan’s government’s decision to boycott the T20 World Cup match against India, the International Cricket Council is planning a number of punitive measures against the country, including a potential ban from the next edition of the major tournament.
Other measures might include heavy financial penalties, a prohibition on foreign players playing in the PSL, and top member nations declining to play bilateral series with them.
The PCB, in solidarity with Bangladesh’s expulsion from the T20 World Cup, has opted not to play their group league game against India in Colombo on February 15 despite having a legal contract with the ICC and the BCCI on playing matches on neutral venues.
“The PCB hasn’t yet officially informed ICC but since there has been an official announcement, the ICC is expected to take some stringent actions. The ICC board will be meeting tomorrow (Monday) virtually and decide whether Pakistan should be allowed to play in the tournament. In case they are allowed, there could be some strict punishment for PCB,” PTI quoted an ICC Board source saying on conditions of anonymity.
“Since they are in violation of a binding contract, the ICC’s member boards could refuse to travel to Pakistan for the bilateral series. In case they play the bilateral series, there is every chance that the results will not impact the ICC rankings across formats. There remains a chance of Pakistan not being awarded any WTC points,” the source added.
Sanctions against Pakistan’s main source of income, the Pakistan Super League, could be the worst blow.
“Barring retired players or free agents, the current overseas internationals could be barred from participating in the PSL. Apart from that, the revenue loss incurred by ICC’s host broadcaster Jio-Star which could range into millions of dollars, will have to compensated by the PCB. It goes without saying that their annual revenue will also not be disbursed,” the source added.
In case the ICC bans Pakistan from the competition, then Uganda will be the alternative team but that would only be decided after the board meeting.
An India-Pakistan Twenty20 match typically fetches premium prices of between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 40 lakh every ten seconds, and the loss of advertising revenue alone might exceed Rs 200 crore.
