PCB projects $650 million revenue from its proposed quadrangular T20 tournament: Reports

In the latest development, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has projected USD 650 million in revenue from its proposed project of a quadrangular series between arch-rivals Pakistan, India, with Australia and England as the other two teams.

According to media reports, the PCB will be presenting the proposal to the International Cricket Council in the next meeting of the global governing body, scheduled for next week in Dubai.

The proposal - that will see India, Australia, Pakistan and England play a single-league T20 tournament every year - has been in the works ever since PCB chief Ramiz Raja came to power.

With India refusing to play with Pakistan in bilateral events, the PCB is desperate to persuade their Indian counterparts. The proposed quadrangular series involving Ashes rivals is a part of that plan.

The PCB has also identified September and October as an ideal windows for the event. This is because the aforementioned months mark the end of the English summer and the start of the cricket season in Australia, India and Pakistan.

"This is a strategic paper in which the ICC and its members have been encouraged and invited to explore an untapped event opportunity around traditional rivalries in cricket, turn them into a cricket extravaganza, attract a new generation of cricketers, speed up cricket development and maximise revenues for the members," said a PCB official as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.

"This concept not only provides context, but it will also become a much-anticipated event across the globe as cricket fans and followers want to see Pakistan play India or Australia take on England or India meet England or Pakistan face Australia on an annual basis," he added.

As per the concept, the tournament will comprise six-league games followed by either one-off or a best-of-three final, which will be played across two weekends.

The venue for the tournament will be decided on a rotational basis, and the ICC will be the governing body of the tournament. According to the proposal, the revenue earned from the tournament will be distributed between the participating national, other full-member nations and the associate countries.