The return of the India v Pakistan match to the 2026 T20 World Cup schedule has injected new life into the showpiece event.
After weeks of uncertainty over the fate of the most high-profile match of the tournament, the world governing body ICC and subcontinent cricket boards agreed on Monday to bury their differences and go ahead with the fixture, easily the single biggest revenue generator in cricket.
According to reports, the $3 billion broadcast deal signed with the International Cricket Council for the 2024-27 cycle includes the provision of having one India v Pakistan match each tournament. According to The Telegraph, it roughly equates to $250 million for four matches in the cycle, or around $50-60m per match.
Apart from that, there is a huge demand for match tickets, hospitality and advertisement slots during matches. The financial impact of that match on local tourism and economy forced the Sri Lankan government to step in and request their Pakistan counterparts to reconsider their earlier decision to forfeit the match.
Pakistan, who had earlier decided to show solidarity with the Bangladesh team after the latter were removed from the World Cup for refusing to travel to India over security concerns, have now agreed to fulfil their commitment and avoid a financial disaster for the tournament and, by extension, member boards.
With the match now back on, anticipation is high that several records will be set away from the field of play.
Will India v Pakistan become the most-viewed cricket match of all time?
Viewership for cricket matches has evolved over the years, with multiple platforms fragmenting the audience. There are various estimates which say that high-profile matches - mainly India v Pakistan World Cup games - routinely attract viewership of over a billion.
However, according to verifiable figures, India's matches at World Cups in general tend to bring in the biggest numbers. The most-watched cricket match of all time was the 2011 World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka, which attracted a little over half a billion unique viewers (558 million). India's win over Pakistan in the semi-final of that tournament is second on the list at a little under half a billion (495m).
When it comes to streaming, India's last two World Cup finals hold the record for the most-viewed matches on OTT platforms.
The 2024 T20 World Cup final between India and South Africa had a peak concurrent viewership of 53 million online. The 2023 ODI World Cup title match between India and Australia in Ahmedabad holds the record for the highest concurrent viewership of 59 million.
According to the ICC, the opening weekend of the 2026 T20 tournament witnessed a jump of more than 50 per cent in views - 647m across platforms - compared to 2024.
The match in Colombo on Sunday could break all viewership records. The festering animosity between the teams following the handshake drama at the Asia Cup in the UAE last year and the highly politicised build-up, cancellation and revival of the match should ensure a record number of eyeballs.
Will this T20 World Cup become a billion-dollar tournament?
Before the tournament and all the drama surrounding India v Pakistan started, there was a belief that cricket could have its first billion-dollar tournament.
Since the tournament is taking place in India with the hosts as the defending champions and hot favourites, it was anticipated that the 2026 event would breach the $1 billion mark, going by the trajectory of recent tournaments.
Both the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2023 ODI World Cup brought in revenues in the range of $700 million ($691m and $719m respectively), according to the ICC's annual report.
If India go all the way in the World Cup and face Pakistan once again at a later stage, the tournament would be in the pink of health.
Most advertisement slots for the India v Pakistan match in Colombo have already been sold, with the few remaining ones expected to fetch premium prices.
However, the threat of rain looms over the fixture once again. Colombo has witnessed intermittent rain since the tournament began last weekend, although no fixture has yet been impacted by the weather. Still, the forecast is for rain on Sunday, which could put a spanner in the works.
