PCB spending $2.5-3 million for Pakistan vs World XI: Report

World XI players arrived in rickshaws painted with truck art at Gadaffi Stadium. (Source: Reuters)

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has splashed the cash in order to bring cricket back to the country and 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 2099 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 to compete. Without any official word, ESPNCricinfo believes 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. ICC have 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.

If this Independence Cup series goes off without incident, it opens way to 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.

Only the PSL final was staged in Pakistan recently but more matches are scheduled for the future. If that goes as planned, PCB are looking at more revenue in ticket sales and advertising besides TV.