Pakistan 'Unable' to find Indian broadcaster for PSL 2021, gets trolled by fans online

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has managed to secure a three-year deal to televise all home internationals and the Pakistan Super League in the UK with Sky Sports. The deal is a landmark one for the PCB, considering that the cricket broadcast market has been shrinking amidst the coronavirus pandemic. And while the cricket board has tied up several deals with broadcasters across the globe, they are yet to find a broadcaster in South Asia; mainly India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

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Pakistan yet to find Indian broadcaster for international cricket, PSL 2021

According to a report by ESPNcricinfo, the PCB has clinched broadcast deals in major countries across the globe, but are yet to find a suitable broadcaster in the Indian subcontinent. The PCB recently signed a three-year deal with Sky Sports for telecast in the UK, while signed a landmark deal with state broadcaster Pakistan Television (PTV) to take care of the local market. The board has also negotiated agreements with tie-ups in North America (Willow TV), the Caribbean (Flow Sports), Africa (Supersport) and New Zealand (Sky Sports). 

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The PCB have now shifted their focus to finding a suitable deal in the UAE, India and Australia. Discussions with potential broadcasters are already underway, but a failure to secure a deal would mean that PCB will have to resort to open streaming on YouTube and other streaming platforms. In any case, the PCB will retain sole control of the entire production and will only provide a feed to the broadcaster. PCB had struck their previous two deals with Ten Sports, owned by Sony Pictures Sports Network. But with political ties strained between Pakistan and India, it has been more difficult to negotiate this time as the PCB could miss out on a major broadcaster with wider global reach.

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Indian fans reacted joyfully to the news, taking the opportunity to troll the Pakistan Cricket Board. And while rumours suggest that Sony might eventually the deal, Twitterati left no stone turned after the PCB failed to find an Indian broadcaster. A section of Team India fans said that it would be better off the broadcasters decided to telecast games of emerging countries like Afghanistan and Bangladesh than countries like Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Some supporters even indicated that there was no interest from the Indians to watch the Pakistan cricket team live, suggesting that YouTube is the best for them. 

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(Image Courtesy: PCB Instagram)