India-Pakistan Cricket Match: The Biggest Single Event in the World of Sports

Why did Pakistan's decision to boycott the India-Pakistan match in solidarity with Bangladesh in this year's T20 World Cup send shockwaves around the world? And why did it trigger the International Cricket Council's and other cricket boards' urgent efforts to persuade Pakistan to return to the match? The reason has a lot to do with its massive financial impact, estimated to be as much as $500 million in this tournament alone. The ICC projects an average annual revenue of roughly $600 million in the current cycle from 2024 to 2027. The international cricketing body calls India, England and Australia "The Big Three" in the current revenue sharing formula. The reality is that India and Pakistan are "The Big Two" in terms of their revenue contributions from ICC events. 

The current dispute arose when the ICC, currently headed by the Indian Home Minister Amit Shah's son Jay Shah, replaced Bangladesh by Scotland in the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup after it refused to play their matches in India, citing security concerns. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) demanded a move to Sri Lanka, but the ICC rejected this, finding no credible threat, and formally removed Bangladesh from the tournament on January 24, 2026. Pakistan jumped in at this point to show solidarity with Bangladesh in its right to refuse to play in India based on its perception of security threat to its players. This forced the ICC to visit Pakistan to end its boycott based on assurances that Bangladesh will not be penalized for the current T20 tournament in terms of denial of its share of the ICC revenue. Bangladesh was also guaranteed hosting rights to an ICC event between now and 2031. 

India-Pakistan cricket matches consistently draw the biggest crowds and the largest TV viewerships than any other single sporting event anywhere. The 2025 Champions Trophy match between India and Pakistan set new digital records with 602 million viewers on JioHotstar. Compare this with the 2026 US Super Bowl match that was seen by 125 million people. 

The urgency with which the international sports body addressed it clearly established the massive leverage Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has in negotiating the terms of its participation in the ICC international tournaments. It also showed that Pakistan has not yet fully exercised this leverage to get a larger share of the ICC revenue. Currently, Pakistan is the fourth-largest recipient from the International Cricket Council (ICC), receiving a 5.75% share of the total revenue, which amounts to approximately $35–38 million annually under the 2024-27 cycle. India receives 38.5% of the ICC, the highest of all members, followed by England's 6.9% and Australia's 6.25%. Other full members receive 2-5% each while all the associate members together get 11%. 

If left unresolved, the dispute could have major financial ramifications for all of cricket, as the ICC’s $3 billion Indian media rights deal for 2024-27 with JioStar (a joint venture of Viacom18 and Disney Star) is largely predicated on India facing Pakistan every year in a global tournament, meaning each one is worth roughly $500m, according to The Guardian newspaper. Any reduction in the value of the ICC’s media rights, or a rebate from the current deal, would have major ramifications for all member nations of the ICC (International Cricket Council). 

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