The Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) plans to bid for five major ICC events to be held from 2024 to 2031, some of them jointly with Asian countries minus India, could come unstuck due to the enormously resourceful Indian cricket board’s influence and the huge advertising reach and market that it commands.

According to a report in leading Pakistani media outlet Dawn, the PCB was interested in hosting international cricket events in the 2024-2031 cycle, believing the security situation across the country has improved. On the PCB’s radar are cream tourneys - ODI and Twenty20 World Cups and the Champions Trophy.

According to Dawn, the PCB was toying with the idea of holding the Champions Trophy alone, while teaming up alongside United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to bid for the other events.

Co-hosting with its Indian counterpart BCCI is now a strict no-no for the Pakistan board due to the virtual freeze of ties because of the Kashmir dispute.

On August 5, 2019, India’s BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had repealed Article 370 of the country’s constitution that granted special powers to Jammu and Kashmir. It also downgraded J and K from a state to a union territory. Pakistan had then responded by downgrading diplomatic relations with India, while suspending bilateral trade

Very recently Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan ruled out improving ties with India, as, according to him, it would be a “betrayal” of Kashmiris.

Earlier this week, Imran Khan’s cabinet turned down national broadcaster PTV’s request to enter into a contract with Indian companies to telecast Pakistan’s upcoming cricketing series with England, saying it can’t have relations with India until it restored the old status of Jammu and Kashmir.

However, a look at the PCB’s ambitious hosting plans from the Indian angle brings out the big hurdles – one could say almost insurmountable - that the Lahore-headquartered board could face in executing it on the ground.

First,  India with its nearly 1.3 billion population – a huge majority of it cricket crazy – constitutes the biggest cricketing market. It towers over all other cricket-playing nations in terms of television ad revenues and corporate support.

The financial muscle has made the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) hugely influential in the cricketing globe, and there is little doubt that it would not take kindly to any slight shown by PCB (which, according to the Dawn report, is planning to place co-hosting bids by leaving out India).

Thus, it remains to be seen how far the PCB can get onboard nations like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and UAE in submitting  joint bids for ICC events. These countries look very unlikely to rub India the wrong way by agreeing to play tango with Pakistan.

Also, as the Dawn report itself mentions, getting Pakistan’s participation in any event hosted by India is far easier than the other way round.

The Dawn report cites the case of the T20 World Cup that was scheduled to be held in India, till the severe Covid 19 second wave is said to have prompted some amount of rethink in the corridors of the ICC.

“For participating in this year’s T20 World Cup scheduled to be staged in India, Pakistan only put forward to the ICC the condition of ensuring the issuance of visas to its team, Pakistan fans as well as journalists, which has not yet been accepted officially,” says the report.

Pakistan last hosted an ICC event —  the 1996 World Cup — jointly with India and Sri Lanka. The global body had pulled out the 2008 Champions Trophy and the 2011 World Cup from Pak­istan on security grounds.

The Pakistan media reports say incumbent PCB chairman Ehsan Mani, who has organised the 2007 ODI World Cup in West Indies and then first T20 World Cup the same year in South Africa as the ICC head, is leading a PCB team preparing the bids for ICC’s events.

Mani’s tenure, however, is ending in September this year and only PCB patron Prime Minister Imran Khan could extend his tenure.

The PCB believes it can hold the ICC Champions Trophy, a prime eight-team event, at four available venues in Karachi, Lahore, Rawa­l­pindi and Multan. It is expected to complete the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad. Sindh next year to also consider it as a venue for international matches.

(SAM)