Pakistans Latest Demands Could Shake International Cricket

ByAnupam Pandey,SportsCafe Editor

Today at 7:09 PM

The tensions continue to rise between the ICC and PCB. With India and Pakistan’s clash now less than a week away, the PCB has put forward some demands which could help them to not boycott the game. But the main concern is whether the BCCI will accept these terms or not.

The El Clasico clash of the T20 World Cup 2026 is set to be played on 15 February at Colombo. But it is still not clear to the fans whether Pakistan will be taking the field for this game or not. The team earlier announced that they will participate in the tournament but not take the field against India.

Following this, the ICC and PCB had several meetings which had the main objective to ensure this game takes place. And according to the recent reports, the PCB has put down some terms and conditions to play the game. If these conditions get accepted by the BCCI and ICC, it would result in some serious changes to the game dynamics.

1. Pakistan's Conditions

The ICC and PCB officials held a meeting which took place a few hours back. And this meeting allowed the PCB officials to state their conditions which will help them to stop the boycott of the T20 World Cup clash. As the match between India and Pakistan looms closer, it remains questionable whether they will be accepted or not.

The first demand raised by the PCB was to get an increased ICC share.
The board also said that the bilateral series between India and Pakistan must be restored.
Handshake protocols must be made compulsory in the game.

So, these changes demanded by the PCB would be bringing out some massive changes in the cricket, if they are accepted. The last demand they made to restore the handshake protocols comes after what happened in the Asia Cup 2025. It is still unclear whether Pakistan will be taking the field for the clash on 15 February or not.

2. PCB’s ICC Share

The Pakistan Cricket Board has demanded an increase in the ICC share. It should be noted that they are highly dependent on the ICC to ensure their board remains financially healthy. Currently, they are getting 38 million US dollars from the ICC as a share of their revenue. The team is signed to them with 138 million dollars for the 2024-27 cycle.

Even the last two ICC tournaments played a crucial role for the PCB and its revenue. One of the last two ICC events was hosted by Pakistan, and the hosts reportedly made 6 million dollars extra from the same. And now, the PCB has demanded an increase in their ICC share. This would be a matter which the ICC would see and clear to them in the next few days.

3. Will Bilateral Series Continue?

India and Pakistan’s bilateral series have not been taking place for more than a decade. This is due to the geopolitical tensions between the country, and the last time they played at either one of the countries was in the 2023 World Cup. Since then, even their clashes in the ICC events have been taking place at neutral venues.

Pakistan has raised the demand that the team wants the ICC to restore the bilateral series against India. The last time India and Pakistan faced each other in a bilateral series, it was during 2012-13. Pakistan visited India for the 2 T20I and 3 ODI match series, and that was also their last tour of India for any bilateral.

India was unable to get much of Pakistan in that series, as the team was going through a transition phase. The T20I series ended up in a 1-1 draw, while Pakistan was able to win the ODI series with ease. And since then, both teams have never faced each other in a game, except for the ICC events.

4. No Handshake Controversy

The India and Pakistan clash has always been filled with controversies. And a new one erupted when both teams faced each other at Asia Cup 2025. This was after the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor, which strained the relations between the two countries. When their clash of the Group stages came to an end, the Indian team went back to the dressing room without shaking hands.

This came as a public insult for Pakistan, as the team stood on the field to shake hands with the Indian players. Even in the next two games played by India and Pakistan against each other, the handshake never happened. But Pakistan now wants to make it compulsory for the teams to shake hands with the opposition.

Comments

0/1000