LAHORE, March 28: The forthcoming limited-overs home series against Bangladesh is likely to cost the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) millions of rupees, as the low-profile event could not attract a good number of sponsors, Dawn learnt on Friday.

A key official of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), on the condition of anonymity, said the loss was in millions, despite the fact that Bangladesh were not charging match fees for any of their games.

According to the International Cricket Council (ICC) decision, the country of a visiting squad charges $150,000 for a One-day International while half of this sum for a Twenty20 fixture, irrespective of its world ranking.

“The Bangladeshis are playing the series on a reciprocal basis and in future Pakistan will tour Bangladesh for the same number of matches, without charging any fees,” the official added.

Therefore, it is expected that Bangladesh cricket will gain more benefits through the (Pakistan) series featuring five ODIs and a Twenty20, both financially and cricketing wise.

The PCB has invited Bangladesh for the series after Australia’s refusal to tour Pakistan due to security concerns.

But according to the estimated cost of the series, the PCB will have to spend about Rs30 million, only on boarding, lodging and transportation. In addition to this, Rs10.25 million is required to pay match-fess to the Pakistan cricketers.

To meet the expenditure, the PCB has almost sold the TV rights for a meagre amount of Rs10.47 million. The remaining amount is expected through the title sponsorship inside billboard and gate money.

But the PCB is not pinning great hopes on these three resources, since the series is no match to an Australia-involving contest.

Moreover, a source in the board said the PCB Chairman Dr Nasim Ashraf and other key officials took the decision of inviting Bangladesh, in spite of the fact that its feasibility report was not encouraging.

The high officials were interested in the (Bangladesh) series just to engage themselves in any activity at a time when reshuffling in various government-held organisations is expected due to recent political changes after the Feb 18 elections, sources said.