New Delhi: India takes on Pakistan in a two-match Friendship Series in Abu Dhabi in April this year, which will give fresh impetus to the relief efforts for the October 2005 earthquake that had struck India and Pakistan killing nearly 85,000 people.
Both the matches will day and night and will be played on 18 and 19 April at the Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi and will be counted as official One-Dayers recognized by the International Cricket Council.
However a controversy has already arisen as the Board of Control for Cricket in India has already floated a tender for stadium ground rights for the series that does not mention that Pakistan Cricket Board is the joint partners with them in the organisation of the two ODIs.
BCCI's tender document says that the logo of the Indian cricket board will have to be displayed by the successful bidders with no mention at all that the PCB's logo should also be shown.
Interestingly, BCCI floated the tender document after the PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan wrote to the Indian body recently making it clear that Pakistan would not play any of the planned offshore ODI series against them (excluding Abu Dhabi games) in the year that both countries play each other in a bilateral series.
The minimum bid for the Ground Rights tender package is $3 million and participation is open to any company or agency with a net worth of $5 million.
Sealed bid entries will be accepted till 1630 hrs IST on 31 March, 2006 in Mumbai at the Cricket Club of India office. The sealed bids will be opened at 1700 hrs IST on the same day.
The ground rights sponsorship entails an exclusive sponsorship package, offering logos on all tickets, entry gates, ground logos, stumps etc.
Further the package includes on-air event promotions will include title sponsors name and mentions during flash interviews and on the scorecards.
"This is a unique opportunity for brands to not only reach out to the Indian communities overseas but also promote their brand in a unique manner where for the first time all rights are being offered to a single company," Chairman Marketing Sub-Committee and Vice President BCCI, Lalit Modi, said.
All revenues from Day I of the series, after meeting basic costs, will be donated to the Earthquake relief funds of the two countries.
The President's Earthquake Relief Fund in Pakistan will get 75 per cent of the Charitable Donation and 25 per cent will be donated to the Kashmir Earthquake Relief Fund in India.
In an added noble gesture, players from both teams have decided to donate their match fees for Day I to the same cause.
"Cricket is one of the most popular games in Asia and helping out people affected by this earthquake through the game is an honor for us. The cricket boards of Pakistan and Abu Dhabi, and players from the Indian and Pakistani teams have shown great spirit in formulating this series and we are grateful to them for their interest. We are certain this will be a huge success," Modi added.
Tenders for Media Right for the matches are also likely to be announced soon.
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