Fawad Chaudhry, Pakistan’s federal minister for information, said on Tuesday that Pakistan television will be unable to broadcast the forthcoming six white-ball matches between England and Pakistan because Indian businesses have South Asian broadcasting rights.
Pakistan will play three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and three Twenty-Twenty-Innings (T20Is) against England in July 2021. According to Chaudhry, commerce with Indian firms would resume only if the Government of India reverses the August 5, 2019 judgement.
On the aforementioned day, India removed Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and approved legislation to divide the state into two Union Territories. “Indian companies hold the rights to broadcast [matches] in South Asia …. and we cannot conduct business with any Indian company,” Chaudhry stated.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and PTV would suffer significant losses as a result of this, according to the information minister. The first One-Day International (ODI) between Pakistan and England will take place on July 8 at Cardiff. The T20I series will begin on July 16th in Nottingham.
Sony Pictures Network India (SPN) holds the exclusive rights to broadcast and stream matches from England. Meanwhile, this move has enraged Pakistan’s die-hard cricket fans, who have taken to social media to express their displeasure.
PTV Sports will not broadcast cricket series of Pakistan tour to England 2021
This is going to be the Worst Decision ever made by Govt of Pakistan#RizwanAhmadOfficial#PakvsEng pic.twitter.com/MV6yC6dxp4— Muhammad Rizwan (@Rizwan_pti_ik) June 8, 2021
3 T20i and 3 ODI series between #Pakistan and #England
starting from 8th July wont be televised in Pakistan, says Information Minister @fawadchaudhry. This a a big loss for the cricket audience in Pakistan and a financial hit as well for state broadcaster.#PakvsEng https://t.co/kDtxN8m5N8— وقاص احمد (@waxasahmad) June 8, 2021
India is also set to host the upcoming T20 World Cup and it remains to be seen if this will again become an issue in the future.
