ICC to consider banning Pakistan from future marquee international events
They could even withhold Pakistan's annual revenue
Pakistan could be asked to compensate Jio Hotstar for their loss from no Indo-Pak fixture
The International Cricket Council mulls a slew of punitive actions against Pakistan, including a possible ban from the upcoming edition of the marquee event if they formally decide to boycott the T20 World Cup match against India scheduled to take place on February 15 following their government's diktat.
Also, hefty sanctions could follow PCB, along with isolation in world cricket, including top member nations refusing to play bilateral series with them, and a ban on overseas players' participation in the PSL.
"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," an ICC Board source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
So what are the possible sanctions expected against the PCB? "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.
One of the biggest dents to PCB would their a hit to two major revenue generators - Pakistan Super League and Annual Funding from ICC
"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.
ICC could also go the extent of banning Pakistan from the 2026 T20 World Cup and replace them with Uganda, however, that decision will only be taken after the board meeting.
Normally, the advertisement rates for an India-Pakistan T20 game commands premium rates of anything between Rs 25 lakh to Rs 40 lakh per 10 seconds and simply advertisement revenue loss could be of more than Rs 200 crore.
In short these could be the implications of Pakistan's boycott of India's match in T20 World Cup
- Complete Ban from the World Cup
- Freezing of Annual Revenue from ICC
- Direction to compensate Jio Hotstar for revenue loss from no IND-PAK fixture
- Sanctions on bilateral series, impact on WTC points and ICC rankings.
- Banning Overseas players (except free agents) from taking part in Pakistan Super League
