India vs Pakistan to go ahead at T20 World Cup: It's all about the money, honey!

New Delhi: After days of uncertainty, the India vs Pakistan group stage clash in the T20 World Cup on February 15 will go ahead. The contest, scheduled to be played in Colombo, received the green signal following back-channel talks between the International Cricket Council (ICC), Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).

The reasons for doubts over the marquee fixture and the eventual clearing of the air may be largely political, but the economic nature of the match cannot be ignored.




"It's not just another game of cricket; it is one of the commercial backbones of an ICC event," said Faisal Hasnain, former ICC CFO, in a social media post.

Many aspects make the India vs Pakistan match an economic behemoth. The chief contributor to its might is the contribution from the broadcaster, especially the Indian region. JioStar, which holds the broadcast rights for ICC events in India, splashed out $3.04 billion (India market only) for the 2024-27 rights cycle.

In August 2022, when Disney India bought the broadcast rights, each of the 179 matches were valued at Rs 138.7 crore. This was when one men's competition was scheduled each year: the 2024 T20 World Cup, 2025 Champions Trophy, 2026 T20 World Cup and 2027 ODI World Cup.

Despite that, the return on investment is unfavourable. Of the 179 matches in the cycle, India will play between 26 and 30 matches (they have already played 14 matches in the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy). With India accounting for nearly 80% of the ICC's revenue, this creates a large dependency on a single market.

Just two months ago, the broadcaster reportedly told the ICC that it was unable to follow through on the remaining two years of their four-year deal due to “deep financial issues.” The ICC and JioStar quashed this report a few days later but the challenging financial position cannot be doubted.

With the India vs Pakistan match at a T20 World Cup in jeopardy, it made more sense than ever for the ICC to sit across the table with the PCB and negotiate.

"TV ads for this match reportedly sell for $25,000-$40,000 for just 10 second slots. Prime time slot may even go for $50,000. On digital and connected TVs, 10-second ads may even be worth $10,000-$15,000. So a single minute of ad during a India vs Pakistan game can be worth $250,000 or more to the broadcaster. And that entire match could generate $60 million in ads alone," explained Hasnain.

With ad slots sold in packages of individual fixtures, India-only games and India-Pakistan separately, an abandoned contest would have spelt disaster. If the fixture had been called off, the T20 World Cup would have taken a 15-20% hit from an ad revenue perspective alone. In pure numbers, that would mean Rs 200-300 crore in direct advertising value would have been lost.

The maths behind the India vs Pakistan match

• JioStar spent $3.04 billion on ICC broadcast rights for India region for the 2024-27 cycle
• India vs Pakistan can generate $60 million in TV ads alone
• Other revenue generators include ticketing, corporate boxes, merchandise, in-stadium adverts
• Local economy gets direct and indirect boost as well

Lazy maths would help triangulate the broadcast value of an India vs Pakistan match. Culver Max Entertainment/Sony Pictures Network Limited (SPNI) spent $170 million for eight years of Asian Cricket Council (ACC) media rights (2024-2031) which covers four men's Asia Cup events.

In a single Asia Cup, India and Pakistan can meet a maximum of three times, provided they meet in the final as well. Even if they meet 10 times over four editions, it pits the contest's value at $15-17 million.

With more at stake in a World Cup, as is evident by three broadcast rights bidders, one can argue that the valuation will be double than that of the Asia Cup. Conservatively that translates to $30-35 million, approximately the same as PCB's share of revenue from the ICC.

That isn't it.

India vs Pakistan beyond the broadcast revenue

R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo will host the India vs Pakistan contest in the T20 World Cup. (Getty Images)

The India vs Pakistan match brings with it sold-out stadiums, sales of corporate boxes, merchandise and in-stadium advertisements. Direct and indirect losses to the local economy in Colombo prompted Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to write to the PCB to reconsider their position. Hotel rooms that usually go for $45 a night were selling for $80 a night due to Valentine's Day and the India-Pakistan weekend.

"In addition to this (broadcasters), there are other sources of revenue. Industry estimates and history suggest that the total commercial value of this one match is around $200-$250 million. That's a lot of money for one game of cricket," stated Hasnain.

He went on to explain how no India vs Pakistan match would have hurt broadcaster JioStar with lost advertisement revenue, ICC's sponsors, India and Pakistan cricket team's sponsors and hurt the ICC's leverage for future media rights negotiations.

Those fears have now been allayed after the ICC's announcement of the India vs Pakistan game going ahead as originally planned.


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