Pakistan Cricket Board has incurred huge losses because of its isolation in international cricket but a bilateral series against India, even at a neutral venue, can solve the financial crunch, PCB chairman Ejaz Butt said on Monday.
Mr. Butt told a news conference in Lahore that the PCB was losing nearly 71 per cent of its revenues after the suspension of international matches in Pakistan due to the prevailing security conditions here.
“We are losing a lot of revenues from sale of our television rights because teams are not willing to come to Pakistan and this is what I informed the ICC special task force on Pakistan in Dubai,” he said.
Mr. Butt said during his recent visit to India he had met BCCI officials and requested them to take steps to resume bilateral ties with Pakistan as soon as possible.
“The vibes I got from the Indians were positive and we are hopeful they would soon get clearance from their government to play bilateral series with us at neutral venues,” he said.
Mr. Butt said that since India was the biggest commercial market for cricket, obviously broadcasters wanted the rights of maximum matches featuring the Indian team.
“But overall for Pakistan, it is a woeful situation because leave alone India, no team is willing to tour our country at the moment and we don’t know when the situation will improve,” he added.
