February 15 sees another round of the India-Pakistan bout, a rivalry that has seen dips in terms of competitive nature over the last decade. India are arguably the best T20I team in the world and are also defending champions at the moment. With T20 World Cup 2026 being held in India and Sri Lanka, it's no surprise that Suryakumar Yadav's men are favourites to defend their crown.
However, the conditions in Colombo should suit Pakistan's spin attack and India's recent vulnerability against slow bowling does mean that this could be a closer contest. Regardless of whether this India-Pakistan game lives up to the hype or not, this contest remains the most expensive cricket match in terms of media rights.
India-Pakistan matches in ICC tournaments are valued at $62.5 million, which means a rough value of Rs 567 crore for this game alone. For the record, the entire T20 World Cup 2026 is valued at roughly Rs 8264 crore. It means that the India-Pakistan game constitutes approximately 7 percent of the total revenue of the T20 World Cup.
ICC events are second spot in this list as each game is valued at an average of $15.35 million (Rs 139 crore). Of course, this average does get a boost from the inevitable India-Pakistan game that will be there in the schedule. No wonder that India and Pakistan always 'coincidentally' find themselves in the same group.
The Indian Premier League is third in the list with a valuation of $13.03 million (Rs 118 crore) per game. For a domestic T20 league to feature at the third spot shows the financial impact of the IPL. It is also the only T20 league to feature in the top 5 list. India's bilateral series with England/Australia/South Africa are next on the list at fourth spot.
Each game is valued at roughly $10 million (Rs 90.56 crore) with the India-Australia games arguably at the top of the pile. India's home games across formats are next on the list at fifth spot. Each game is valued at $7.49 million (Rs 67.80 crore) and once again, it is a very lucrative deal for the BCCI.
