Following a lengthy gap in cricketing ties between the two countries due to political tensions in the region, India's cricket tour of Pakistan in February/March next year is expected to rake in huge financial gains for the PCB.
This would help offset huge losses that PCB has suffered due to cancelled tours following the September 11 terrorist attacks. The last time India toured Pakistan was in 1997.
According to one senior official of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI): "It is going to be jackpot series, and from my reading of pulse of international television rights market, the series is going to be worth $20m."
The series, which comprises of three Test matches and seven one-day internationals, would likely attract an estimated TV audience of 260 million people in India with Doordarshan the likely broadcast partner.
TV rights of Pakistani cricket are with Taj Television's pay-TV network Ten Sports which will be boosted through advertisement revenue that the series will undoubtedly bring. In turn PCB will benefit through in-stadia advertisements and ticket sales.
Only three Tests and three one-day internationals were originally scheduled for this tour, according to the 10-year calendar supplied by the International Cricket Council (ICC). However the market value of an India-Pakistan series are making cricket officials of both countries go for three Tests and seven one-dayers, according to a BCCI spokesman.
