With world cricket’s financial powerhouse India calling the shots and the Asia Cup set to be pulled from Pakistan and shifted to Sri Lanka, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is caught between a rock and a hard place.
With Pakistan facing a financial crisis and its cricket board cash strapped, from this perch it certainly looks as if the wiggle room available to PCB chairman Najam Sethi, who arrived in Dubai on Tuesday to conduct talks with officials of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), is extremely limited.
It will be interesting to see if the PCB, after being muscled out of its rights to host the Asia Cup, competes in the tournament, now reportedly scheduled to be held at two venues in Sri Lanka from September 2-17. Also, whether Pakistan decides against coming to India for the World Cup remains to be seen.
Talking to the media on the occasion of the Pakistan’s National Assembly Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) meeting earler, Sethi had told local reporters that the chances of the Pakistan team “traveling to India for the One Day International (ODI) World Cup are low”.
“In case of India’s refusal to travel to Pakistan to compete in the Asia Cup, chances are that the Pakistan government will not allow the Men in Green to cross the borders for their World Cup participation,” Sethi had said.
“There should be a middle way to solve problems that surely threaten the smooth hosting of ICC and ACC events. In case of India’s refusal to travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup, the government will not allow us to travel to India to figure in the World Cup matches,” he had added.
Is Sethi-speak meant for local media consumption or will Pakistan actually “bite the bullet” on the negative financial repercussions that will flow from it.
Not that the BCCI will have it easy either. One can expect host broadcaster Star Sports to demand a significant discount on its media rights payouts for the Asia Cup and ICC World Cup if Sethi was serious about the Pakistan government’s position in the matter.
Related Report
Asia Cup set to be pulled out of Pakistan, shifted to Sri Lanka
