The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) would not be involved in organizing the 2011 World Cup following last week's financial settlement ended its row with the ruling body, an official said Monday. “We will now just take part in the tournament as a participating nation, not as a host country,” a senior PCB official, who did not wish to be named, told Reuters. The International Cricket Council (ICC) board had in April stripped Pakistan of its 14 matches over security concerns, moving them to co-hosts India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The Pakistan board ended a legal challenge on the issue after the two parties agreed Thursday the PCB will retain its host fees and also receive an additional payment as compensation. Pakistan had been invited to nominate representatives on the World Cup organizing committee and central secretariat, but has decided not to attend a meeting in Mumbai Wednesday. “Since we have now reached a satisfactory settlement with the ICC and no longer are joint hosts of the World Cup, it is useless for us to be part of the World Cup organising committee or preparations,” the official said. The total payout to PCB is expected to be around $14-15 million dollars, he added. Some sources claim it could go up to $18m. IPL angry over IMG High-profile owners of team franchises in the Indian Premier League have reacted furiously to the Indian cricket board's decision to snap ties with event management company IMG, reports said Monday. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Saturday terminated its contract with the International Management Group which helped it launch the lucrative Twenty20 league in 2008. Business tycoon Mukesh Ambani and Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan, both owners of IPL franchisees, have shot off angry letters to the BCCI. “I am personally shocked at the unilateral decision of doing away with the services of IMG,” the Times of India quoted Ambani, who owns the MumbaiIndians team. “It is also worrying to me that such a significant decision in relation to IPL has been taken without even so much as consulting the franchises. I strongly believe that this decision, if taken forward, will destroy substantial value for all the stakeholders, especially the franchises and dilute the success of IPL in the coming years.” Kolkata Knight Riders owner Khan said IMG had been “an integral part of the tournament management and its success so far” and questioned the logic of the board in ending the deal. The BCCI had entered into a preliminary agreement with IMG in 2008 to promote and manage IPL's affairs. IMG was to be paid 10 percent of the tournament's gross revenue as commission.
