No India vs Pakistan Cricket in ICC Events! Is It Possible?

The rumors of cancelling the future Indo-Pak games may seem emotionally possible but financially it's a hard bullet to bite

To miss India vs Pakistan cricket match is to miss an emotional treasure / Sporting News

By Shah Faisal

The recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, which tragically claimed the lives of 26 tourists, has further strained India-Pakistan relations, casting a shadow over the cancellation of group stage matches between India and Pakistan in ACC and ICC events in the future. Though there are rumours that BCCI is going to write to ICC about ‘not to place them in the same group again’. Before pondering too much over this possibility, let's review the stats of revenue generated from Indo-Pak games.

Financial  stats  of the last four matches played by India and Pakistan

1. ICC Champions Trophy 2025 – February 23, 2025 (Dubai) 

• Ticket Revenue: AED 45.6 million 

• Average Ticket Price: AED 1,825 

• Stadium Capacity: 25,000 seats, sold out within minutes 

• Ticket Price Range: AED 500 to AED 12,500 

• Advertising Revenue: Advertisers paid up to $ 60,000 10-second spot during the match, nearly three times the rate for IPL playoff matches. (Business Finance News India)  

2. ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 – October 14, 2023 (Ahmedabad) 

• Stadium Capacity: 132,000 (Narendra Modi Stadium) 

• Ticket Price: No official report shared, but the base price for a ticket was 2,000 Indian rupees, and approximately $ 3.17 million could be estimated if all the tickets had been sold at that price. This may not be the case because ticket prices vary according to seats, and in the secondary market, they soar even higher. 

• Advertising Revenue: Estimated between Rs. 100-110 crore (approx. $13-15 million) 

• Ad Rates: $ 30,000   for a 10-second spot on standard feeds  

3. Asia Cup 2023 – September 2 & 10, 2023 (Sri Lanka) 

• Broadcasting Rights: Sold for approximately $100 million for India-Pakistan matches 

• Advertising $30,000-$36,000 for a 10-second ad during matches 

• Merchandising: Record sales of official merchandise, including jerseys and memorabilia.

4. ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 – October 23, 2022 (Melbourne) 

• Stadium Capacity: Over 90,000 (Melbourne Cricket Ground) 

• Ticket Prices: The price ranged from $20 to $110, but an average $50 per seat price would make it $4.5 million just from ticket sales. Note that these are the prices from initial sources; open market and secondary sources make them even higher. 

• Broadcasting Rights: Part of a larger deal reportedly worth $3 billion for exclusive broadcasting rights of India-Pakistan encounters from 2023 to 2027 

 

Cumulative Estimated Revenue 

• Total Ticket Revenue: Approximately $20.07 million USD. 

• Total Advertising Revenue: Approximately $38-40 million USD. 

              Total Broadcasting Rights: Approximately $3.1 billion USD (including the multi-year deal).


This is huge money, and the broadcasters have signed heavy deals about the coverage of these games up to 2027. The India-Pakistan games are not just exciting for the fans; they carry the same value for the financial sharks of the corporate world. Indo-Pak matches are geese that lay the golden eggs, and who would love throwing such an entity away?  

Closing the door on such games doesn't just close the door on the rushing money for India; it also affects the commercial market that seeps the money from these matches, like restaurants, hotels, and transport services. Even the ICC would suffer a lot if they were told to shut down the possibility of Indo-Pak games in future ICC events.  

Who would allow it?  

Though financially impossible, the shutting down of the door can be politically possible because a national government thinks as a whole for the entire nation, and it is the duty of every government to keep its people on top before making any policy. But banning cricket cannot shut down the spree of terrorism. Neither is it in the interest of commercial stakeholders to allow it. And as it is a known fact that financial support from big corporate sectors often runs the government, thus it wouldn't be easy for the government to pull the chain so quickly and take this decision. It's not just a decision; it's biting the bullet.