Text size:
New Delhi: Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Ramiz Raja said on Friday that “90 percent” of the International Cricket Council’s income depends on India and that if the country decides to stop funding, the PCB may collapse . Raja’s statement generated instant reactions from Pakistanis ranging from shock, denial, anger to even a deal. Some wondered why Pakistan did not have funds for cricket and how Prime Minister Imran Khan, a former cricketer, let ‘India rule Pakistan’, while others called him “Uncomfortable truth”.
Ramiz Raja Said 50% of ICC PCB funding 90% of ICC fm BCCI funding
that is, India uses PCB.
Why did we hear this, a #Pakistan no funds to play cricket? very ashamed for you @ImranKhanPTI #PakistanCricket #MdcatStudentsWantJustice #SaveZehriBrothers pic.twitter.com/HcTPK3AvZG– Fatima Begum (@ f_begum786) October 9, 2021
these are uncomfortable truths that we have to face. This is the golden rule. Whoever has the gold makes the rule. Each country is a power because of the size of its economy. Not because of the length of his beards.
– zahid hussain (@mezbankitchen) October 7, 2021
Raja said most of ICC’s business has come from the Indian market, which is a problem for the Pakistani board as it derives “50%†of its funding from ICC.
“In a way Indian companies run Pakistani cricket and if tomorrow the Indian Prime Minister decides that he will not allow any funding in Pakistan, this cricket ground may collapse,” Raja said. noted to the Standing Senate Committee on Interprovincial Affairs in Islamabad.
Raja took up his post as PCB chief on Monday and has already commented on several issues. He had previously said that reviving the bilateral series between Pakistan and India was “impossible” and that an investor had a “blank checkâ€Ready if the Pakistani team led by Babar Azam beat India in the next T20 World Cup, which is due to take place at the Dubai International Stadium on October 24th.
Read also : Ramiz ‘Rambo’ Raja is on a roll and Pakistani cricket fans are grilling him
Pakistanis react
Ramiz Raja has elicited mixed reactions from Pakistanis. There were Twitter users who used this opportunity to create memes at PCB expense, showed a “beggar’s bowl” as their country’s flag symbol. Then there were those who found it shameful that PCB lived on “handouts” and urged PCB to earn enough to manage its own “bread.”
What he really meant pic.twitter.com/UNVt7M5oER
– MANGO MAN. ام آدمی (@ Ryo54292483) October 8, 2021
we get from ICC, not from India. He should understand this and not create chaos. PCB should at least earn that they can handle the bread on their own instead of getting bheeked.
Apni ayashi khtm nae hoti nikamo ki salary dekho in shehzado ki.– Shiba.army (@ shiba_army1) October 8, 2021
Many Twitter users have tried to streamline the situation and examine the facts to understand the nuances of Raja’s remark.
Dear @iramizraja , get your facts straight … First of all @ICC funding only amounts to around 25% of @TheRealPCB budget not 50% like you say, second, India does not fund 90% of CCI. #Dumb https://t.co/gJwZPR0ciH
– Dewan Sachal (@ essel1) October 8, 2021
And finally, there were those who accepted what the PCB president said and called it true, regardless of the harsh reality.
#RamizRaja #PakistanCricket
At least he’s telling the truth! https://t.co/3V2eMoHKDL– Rafi Masood (@personal_rafi) October 8, 2021
But the funniest reactions came from his “blank check” statement, with Twitter users joking that the check “will bounce back.”
This will not happen and even if it does, the check will be rejected.
– your father (@i_m_yourfather) October 8, 2021
Me too .. i will give @iramizraja empty https://t.co/sIaMCEjjWC
– Aasim (@Aasimzaki) October 7, 2021
Read also : Pakistan has no love for New Zealand, only rage and conspiracy theories after tour withdrawal
Raja on PCB
Ramiz Raja is playing the “difficult role” of catering to the Pakistan Cricket Board, which has suffered significant loss of income in the recent past. His first attempt was to sideline the ICC. During the briefing of the Standing Senate Committee, he criticized it for being a “politicized body†divided between the Asian and Western blocs and more of an “event management companyâ€. Now he only focuses on the financial empowerment of PCB. The 58-year-old had already highlighted the savings measures.
“We need to cut council spending. Have a cup of tea instead of two, use the air conditioner less, and turn off the lights when you leave your office. If our team doesn’t become the number one team in the world, there’s no reason we all stay here. We have to work to justify our presence here. Raja noted as quoted by Geo Television.
Raja are trying to make Pakistan “the number one team in the world”. With measures like these, he hopes “to have a positive impact on the country’s cricket system”.
Subscribe to our channels on Youtube & Telegram
Why the news media is in crisis and how to fix it
India needs free, fair, uninhibited and interrogative journalism even more as it faces multiple crises.
But the news media are in a crisis of their own. There have been brutal layoffs and pay cuts. The best of journalism is shrinking, giving in to crass spectacle in prime time.
ThePrint employs the best young reporters, columnists and editors. To maintain journalism of this quality, it takes smart, thoughtful people like you to pay the price. Whether you live in India or abroad, you can do it here.
Support our journalism
