ICC will be suffering a huge loss if Pakistan is out of the picture: Rashid Latif

Former Pakistan cricketer Rashid Latif has stated that the Pakistan government and not the Pakistan Cricket Board has decided not to play even at a neutral venue, targeting the International Cricket Council (ICC), and not the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

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Speaking exclusively to NDTV, Rashid asserted that when political factors come into play, the apex body can’t do much, adding that the ICC would be suffering a huge loss if Pakistan comes out of the picture. He is also hopeful of finding a common solution before the game time. 

“I would say the issue largely comes down to timing. In 2023, Pakistan visited India, but before that, India declined to travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup. As a result, the matches had to be held at a neutral venue-a decision taken by the Government, not the PCB. Now again, the Pakistan government has decided not to play even at a neutral venue. By doing this, they have not targeted the BCCI but the ICC. I don't know the internal politics involved but when political factors come into play, no one, not even the ICC, can do much,” Rashid Latif told NDTV.

“It's obvious that there will be financial losses. PCB will suffer the heaviest loss but it is not much because they get an annual earning of USD 34.51 million, which is around 5.75% of total ICC revenue. However, ICC will be suffering a huge loss if Pakistan are out of the picture. A broadcaster only looks at the sponsors and if they are not there, then the both broadcasters and the ICC are going to face big losses. I feel that ICC and PCB will come to the negotiation table soon to find a common solution to this problem,” he added.

Notably, Rashid’s comments came right after Pakistan decided to boycott the India game in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, scheduled to be played on Sunday, February 15.

India squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh.

Pakistan squad: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafay, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan, Usman Tariq.

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