New Delhi: Not only could Pakistan get heavily sanctioned if they boycott their T20 World Cup group stage match against India, but tournament broadcaster JioStar could also drag them to court.
Pakistan have refused to play the match, scheduled to be held on February 15 in Colombo, on instructions of their government but are yet to communicate it to the International Cricket Council.
ICC has warned them of severe consequences, which reportedly includes withholding Pakistan’s revenue share of around $35 million, using it to pay JioStar.
Pakistan Cricket Board is preparing for serious sanctions and its chairman Mohsin Naqvi has sought opinion of legal experts before briefing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
“If Pakistan doesn’t relent and play against India, not only will they face financial penalties, perhaps a lawsuit from broadcasters but also any efforts to go to the ICC Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) are likely to fail,” a PCB source told PTI.
As the DRC is an internal committee, it doesn’t entertain appeals of decisions taken by ICC’s board, making their action justifiable difficult.
“The PCB might face problems regardless of their government directive to not play India as they are playing all their matches at a neutral venue (Sri Lanka) as per their wishes and not in India,” another PCB source told PTI.
“Secondly, while the Indian government has not given permission to its team to play in Pakistan, it has not stopped them from playing against Pakistan at neutral venues in Asia Cup or ICC events even after the May conflict.”
Breach of contract
Pakistan’s stance is widely believed to be an act of solidarity for Bangladesh, who have been replaced with Scotland for refusing to play in India citing security concerns.
PCB’s efforts to seek support from members of other cricket boards turned futile.
“When the ICC signed its four year deal with the broadcaster for all ICC events, the contract included Pakistan and India matches based on which the broadcaster made the payments to the ICC,” the source said.
“So the broadcaster will be within its rights to take the PCB and ICC to court over a major breach of the contract.”