Financial Trouble In Champions Trophy: After a 29 years of gap, Pakistan is hosting a mege ICC tournament (ICC Champions Trophy 2025). The tournament was supposed to be a jackpot for Pakistan but turned out to be a disaster. According to the sources, the sponsors are loosing money and for Pakistan men's national team it might turn out to be a challenge for future.
India Decimated Pakistan Hopes
On February 23, Pakistan got a heavy defeat against India by 6 wkts, thanks to India's star batter Virat Kohli who struck a majestic hundred to put Pakistan on a brink of elimination. Before India's game, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials were beaming with confidence following a fantastic turnout at the Gaddafi Stadium for the Australia-England match. "It was an uplifting experience to see people respond and enjoy a match not involving Pakistan," a board official said.
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"But now, the challenge is to ensure the crowds keep on coming for the remaining matches in Pakistan, because we are hosting such a big event after 29 years," he conceded.
A reliable source close to PCB commercial wing said that financially the PCB will not take a big hit even if Pakistan does not feature in the semi-finals as only the gate receipts and other avenues of ground income would be affected.
"We are guaranteed hosting fees, our share of ICC revenues including ticket sales, but there are other issues like people losing interest in the mega event, broadcasters showing half filled stadiums etc.
And the biggest worry is despite the craze for cricket here, it may not be easy to sell Pakistan cricket as a brand in future," he said.
The loss to India has led both fans and critics to target the chairman of the board, Mohsin Naqvi, who also serves as the federal interior minister and is known to have the full support of the establishment.
Pakistan's Last Group Game
The Men In Green going to play its' final game against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi on February 27, Thursday.
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