The price PCB is paying to bring cricket back to Pakistan

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has shown that it is ready to do all it takes to give cricket in Pakistan a kind of resurrection for cricket in the country as shown by their efforts and the money they are spending in order to ensure everything goes smoothly during the three-match T20I series against World XI in Lahore. Played at the historic Gadaffi Stadium, which can hold 25,000 fans, PCB is looking to build goodwill and bring more big teams to the country. There has been only one series since the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan bus in Lahore when Zimbabwe toured in 2015.

The major chunk of the expenditure is being made to pay the players participating in the competition. According to reports, it is in the region of $100,000 for each World XI player and the rest going in logistics. PCB will not be paying for the costs of the security with nearly 6,000 police officials and paramilitary officers involved in ensuring everything goes off without a glitch.

Two international security consultants – Reg Dickason and Nicholls Steyn and Associates – are in charge of the security. International Cricket Council (ICC) has agreed to bear the $1.1 million cost for security as a result of PCB’s long standing discussions over lost income due to the absence of international cricket at home ESPNCricinfo reported.

If the ongoing Independence Cup series is pulled off smoothly, it opens the way for more international cricket in the future. Sri Lanka are scheduled to play a solitary T20 in Lahore on October 29 and, West Indies to follow in November for a three-match series of T20s. This year, the Pakistan Super League final was staged in Pakistan but more matches are scheduled for the future. If that goes as planned, PCB is looking at more revenue from ticket sales and advertising besides TV.