Bangladesh cricket to suffer denting ₹36 crore loss if ICC T20 WC is cancelled: Report

The coronavirus pandemic has put global sport on hold and cricket boards across the world are now trying to evaluate their financial situation for the remaining year. Recently, England's players agreed to donate £500,000 (₹4.68 crore) to the ECB, taking a 20% pay cut to cover losses likely to be incurred during a possibly abandoned English summer. While in India, the IPL also hangs in limbo. Here is how the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is faring in the coronavirus situation.

ALSO READ | Tim Paine says it's a no-brainer that Bangladesh tour won't happen due to COVID-19

BCB not too worried about coronavirus losses until T20 World Cup gets cancelled

According to a report by Cricbuzz on Monday, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is not fretting too much over the losses that they might face as a result of cancelled tournaments and matches. The finance committee chairman of the board, Ismail Haider Mallick, talked to the cricket portal and told them that the BCB is expecting losses of 20 to 25 per cent in their yearly revenues, which roughly translates to 40 crore Bangladeshi Taka (₹36 crore estimated). The BCB is being optimistic about the future, however, as Mallick stated that most of the revenues that the BCB makes comes from ICC tournaments, ACC tournaments, and the Bangladesh Premier League. 

ALSO READ | Bangladesh cricket team donates 50% of monthly salary amount for fighting coronavirus

The ICC has the T20 World Cup scheduled for October and the ACC had the Asia Cup T20 scheduled for September. Other than that, the Bangladesh Premier League will also be played in December. As of now, none of those events have been called off and therefore, the BCB is not looking at massive losses for the financial year.

However, last week, a BCCI official who did not wish to be named, reportedly suggested to a leading news agency that the Asia Cup will most probably be cancelled. Along with that, if the coronavirus pandemic does not get contained, the T20 World Cup also stands to be cancelled. Mallick mentioned that if situations like these arise, the BCB will have to re-look at the losses that it will suffer. Bangladesh was also scheduled to host Australia and New Zealand for Test matches in the coming months but Mallick revealed that the board did not stand to make much off the series anyway.

ALSO READ | Mushfiqur Rahim preferred over Shakib al Hasan in Bangladesh's new central contracts list

It can only be speculated that should the worse happen, the BCB might turn to BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, who is ex-President Jagmohan Damliya's protege, for help. The BCCI and the BCB have had good relations over the years and it was under Jagmohan Dalmiya as the ICC President, that the Bangladesh team played its first-ever Test against India in 2000 in Dhaka. Sourav Ganguly was co-incidentally India's cricket captain at the time.

ALSO READ | This day in 2005: Sourav Ganguly's decision that changed MS Dhoni's fate; Read the reveal