ICC Men’s T20 World Cup
Karachi, Feb 16: With every one-sided India-Pakistan clash invariably dominated by India, the commercial value of this once marquee showdown is going down at least on this side of the border, according to former players and observers of the game.
India’s victory on Sunday has hit Pakistan harder than before as there were expectations that after the tough posturing by the country’s administrators during the recent deadlock with the ICC, the players too would fire on all cylinders on the field.
The 61-run defeat was, however, a sobering reminder of the gulf that now exists. India has defeated Pakistan in eight out of nine matches in the T20 World Cup. This is in addition to the three straight defeats that Salman Ali Agha’s men endured at last year’s Asia Cup.
India’s domination over Pakistan in white-ball cricket has been such that since the 2017 Champions Trophy final win, Pakistan has not won a single ODI against the arch foes.
Former Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Lt General (rtd) Tauqir Zia noted that with every loss, the much-hyped games are losing commercial value in the ICC.
“The fact is Pakistan and India matches have become too one-sided. This time the hype built up because the PCB announced the boycott of the game against India then un-boycotted it. But sooner or later the Pakistan and India games will lose their value to the ICC and member boards,” he cautioned.
Pervaz Mir, who runs an advertising agency here, agreed that fans on this side are losing hope for a revival of the once equal rivalry.
“Now fans are also losing hope because no one wants to see one-sided encounters including sponsors, advertisers,” Mir said.He noted that the bulk of the revenues that the ICC and its broadcaster earn from India-Pakistan matches comes from the Indian consumer market. But even there, the mis-match has not gone unnoticed. (PTI)
