English cricket faces a potential financial black hole in excess of £100million this summer if Pakistan carry out their threat to boycott next month’s T20 World Cup.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have raised the very real prospect of pulling out of the tournament co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka in protest at the expulsion of Bangladesh last week.
It comes after the International Cricket Council turned down repeated requests from Bangladesh to move their group-stage fixtures from India to Sri Lanka over safety concerns.
Bangladesh have been replaced by Scotland for the tournament that runs from 7 February to 8 March following their refusal to travel to India after an escalation of political tensions between the two countries.
Pakistan government will make final decision
It is understood Pakistan were the only nation to back Bangladesh’s stance during an emergency ICC board meeting last week and following discussions with Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, PCB chair Mohsin Naqvi confirmed a decision on his country’s participation in the tournament has been set for next Monday.
Naqvi insists “all options” remain on the table, with the final decision ultimately coming down to Pakistan’s government.
Pakistan’s participation in the T20 World Cup remains up in the air (Photo: AFP)As well as a full boycott of the World Cup, it is understood Pakistan are considering whether to just pull out of their lucrative group fixture with India scheduled for Colombo on 15 February.
Whatever call they make, Pakistan run the risk of heavy penalties from the ICC – including the most draconian measure of an effective ban from world cricket that would prevent them from playing any bilateral series.
England risk losing out on three lucrative Tests
That would directly affect England given Pakistan are scheduled to play a three-Test series in this country in August and September, with matches scheduled for Headingley, Lord’s and Edgbaston.
Cancellation of the series would cost the England & Wales Cricket Board around £105m given each Test is worth an estimated £35m in broadcast and other revenues.
The ECB refused to comment on this scenario when contacted by The i Paper. But if Pakistan were banned from international cricket, it is likely they would try and replace them with another team.
While New Zealand are the first visitors during England’s next home summer, playing three Tests in June, replacing Pakistan would be problematic. India and Sri Lanka, who both travel to the UK for white-ball series later in the summer, play each other in a two-Test series in August that clashes with the start of England’s scheduled series against Pakistan.
A doomsday scenario
Ireland, the West Indies and Zimbabwe are the only three teams who have potential blank diaries at this time, but even then, persuading them to travel to the UK for an unscheduled Test series is likely to be tough without the ECB offering significant financial incentives either in the form of hard cash or the promise of future tours by England to their respective country as a quid pro quo.
While the prospect of this doomsday scenario is still some way off, the worry for the ECB will be that the PCB has expressly said the final decision on its team’s participation in the T20 World Cup will come down to Pakistan’s government.
Both Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe have been banned in the past by the ICC for government interference in their country’s cricket boards, something that directly contravenes Article 2.4 (D) of the ICC Constitution.
As well as a total ban from all bilateral cricket, the ICC could opt for less severe punishments if Pakistan only boycotted their fixture against India, such as withholding funds or instructing the other member boards to not sign off on No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for foreign players wanting to play in the Pakistan Super League T20 competition.
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