The International Cricket Council (ICC) is likely to face financial loss as it missed the deadline to release the tournament’s fixtures and schedule which it is required to provide to all the full member nations at least 90 days before the tournament.
The deadline has passed which could leave many of its stakeholders badly affected, especially Disney Star or Jio Star, the ICC’s media partners and the biggest bankrollers of global cricket.
The broadcaster’s inability to fully exploit the tournament full could affect the full potential of the Champions trophy saga.
The ICC would not comment on matters that are commercial but time is running out for its business partners, stakeholder as well as the hosts.
In another development, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), has taken serious exception to the delay in resolving the crisis.
According to reports PCB official is said to have contact ICC CEO Geoff Allardice to express displeasure over the going uncertainity. It is confirmed that PCB had sent to the sports governing body after the BCCI refused to play in Pakistan.
The broadcaster opposes any proposal to decouple India and Pakistan into seperate group, which would allow Pakistan to play all their fixtures at home.
Having India and Pakistan in the same group would require the hosts to travel to another country for their match against India under the hybrid arrangement, a plan the ICC is most likely to adopt during its November 29 meeting.
With a World Cup features 10 teams, a Champions Trophy will be featuring with 8 teams. It is being contended that if ICC aims to revive the tournament which was last played in 2017 an India-Pakistan clash would be its most significant booster of the tournament.
It is now a tough challenge for the ICC to convince a defiant Pakistan Cricket Board to embrace the hybrid model, which is expected to be overwhelmingly back at the ICC board immediately.
