Pakistan-India T20 World Cup Standoff Near Resolution as PCB Seeks Higher ICC Funding

The Pakistan-India T20 World Cup clash scheduled for February 15 could go ahead as PCB holds talks with ICC mediators, reportedly seeking increased annual funding amid revenue concerns.

Pakistan likely to end boycott crisis in lieu of increased revenues from ICC: Report (Image Source: IANS)

The stand-off over the February 15 T20 World Cup match between Pakistan and India is close to getting resolved, with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) likely to demand an increase in the annual funding from the International Cricket Council (ICC), as per reports.

On Sunday, Pakistan government announced that its national cricket team would not play the T20 World Cup group-stage match against India at Colombo’s R.Premadasa Stadium on February 15. The decision could reportedly cost world cricket more than 250 million dollars.

The PCB, however, is having backdoor talks with the ICC with Singapore Cricket Association's Imran Khawaj and Oman's Pankaj Khimji as mediators. As per the Telecom Asia Sport (www telecomasia.net) report, a source close to the development said that a solution is now in sight for the T20 World Cup's highest revenue-generating match to go ahead.

"Pakistan's strong stance has put them in a good position to bargain for a few things which have been the Pakistan Cricket Board's demands for several years now. The opinion of various cricket administrators in the past has been that since Pakistan is a vital cog in the highest money-generating match, they should get more funding," sources told www.telecomasia.net.

According to the report, Pakistan gets 34.5 million dollars from the annual ICC pool, which is fourth behind India, England and Australia.

The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has also taken on the task of convincing Pakistan to change their stance because as the co-hosts they stand to lose big money in foreign exchange with a large number of Indian fans travelling to Colombo and in gate money for the match, the report said.

"Other than the revenue increase, Pakistan is also trying to convince the ICC to mediate with the Board of Control for Cricket to resume bilateral ties which will be tough to revive as not playing full series is a decision by the government, and the BCCI has no say in that.

The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has also taken on the task of convincing Pakistan to change their stance because as the co-hosts they stand to lose big money in foreign exchange with a large number of Indian fans travelling to Colombo and in gate money for the match, the report said.

The PCB has indicated to the mediators that it will convince the Pakistan government if their demands are accepted.

Article Source: IANS