India counts cost of scrapping Pakistan tour

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's cash-rich cricket board could lose up to $10 million in revenue following the scrapping of this month's tour of Pakistan, domestic media reported on Friday.

"We will know the exact figure after the finance committee meeting, but it should be roughly around $10 million," a Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) official told the Hindustan Times.

The meeting, scheduled for later on Friday, would also discuss the financial impact of November's militant attacks in Mumbai, it said.

The Indian government refused permission for the cricket team to tour Pakistan due to strained bilateral ties after blaming Islamist militants based in that country for the attacks which killed 179 people.

India had been scheduled to play three tests, five one-dayers and a Twenty20 international during that tour. The Pakistan board had said they could lose up to $20 million in revenue.

Security concerns following the siege forced the last two games of a home one-day series against England to be scrapped and the inaugural Twenty20 Champions League, with $6 million in prize money, was also postponed.

The BCCI treasurer M.P. Pandove told Reuters last month that security concerns and the global economic meltdown would be a "temporary setback" in the game's global commercial hub.