When the issue of boycott is mentioned in the international cricket, it is questioned how this will affect the international cricket council financially. However, it is possible to reveal that the ICC gets its revenue in a more straightforward manner: no one team can dominate the economics of world cricket.
The largest sources of revenue of ICC.
ICC does not make money selling products. Its revenues are primarily based on three dimensions:
- The rights to the media and broadcasting.
This is the largest income of the ICC. Among digital platforms and television networks, there are enormous amounts of money spent to cover ICC tournaments.
In 20242027 cycle, the global media rights were auctioned at approximately 3 billion dollars, most of the amount of which was made in India. India has the largest population with high consumption of the sport of cricket, which is why advertisers are struggling over India. - Commercial Partnerships
ICC has international sponsors who identify their brands with the big tournaments. These sponsorship arrangements bring on board another source of revenue stream that is very small compared with the broadcasting revenues. - Hospitality and Ticket Sales.
Major tournaments such as World Cups bring in substantial revenues in terms of ticket sales particularly when it comes to knock out matches and games of big profile. Premium seats, VIP boxes and hospitality package generate extra revenue.
Is Pakistan Boycott Bad to the ICC?
When Pakistan threatens not to attend ICC events, there is always a vague indication that such an action would hurt the ICC financially. As a matter of fact, the effects would not be significant.
This is the case because India has a huge market share in the revenue model of the ICC.
According to reports associated with the 202427 revenue structure, India feeds about 80 per cent of the overall income of the ICC. India has about 38.5 percent share in the distribution model, whereas, Pakistan has 5.75 percent. This implies that India itself pays a higher amount than all the full-member countries.
The fact is that Indian advertisers invest in the ICC tournaments because they believe that millions of Indian viewers will watch them. As far as that audience exists, commercial value of ICC events is high.
Where Pakistan Fits In
Pakistan remains a significant market in cricket. The game is greatly enjoyed by fans in the country and the ICC has agreed on local broadcast and digital partners in Pakistan up to 2027. The monetary worth of such deals has however remained unknown and is estimated to be much smaller than the media rights package of India.
This renders Pakistan powerful, though not decisive, in ICC economics.
The Bottom Line
Pakistan is a great asset in the field, however, in terms of business, the Indian market is the financial powerhouse of the ICC. Pakistani boycott will make headlines, and will get them to argue politically, but will not sink ICC tournaments financially.
In brief, cricket can be a competitive event between the teams, however, economically, the power of equilibrium is evident- and it can not be altered by a decision made by one particular country.