Newshub18:India-Pakistan ‘no’ to offer to play in England.
India-Pakistan will face each other in World Cup, Champions Trophy or Asia Cup, then months or years will pass. The two teams will meet again in one of the global or continental tournaments – that has been the case for the past decade. The cricket boards of the two countries also do not know when the India-Pakistan bilateral series will start again.
The reason India-Pakistan is not fighting regularly is political. The Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) is not willing to think about this as there is no state level decision, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is also silent. However, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has thought about India-Pakistan bilateral fight.
ECB Deputy Chairman Martin Darlow has gone to Pakistan to watch the ongoing Pakistan-England T20 series. British newspaper The Telegraph reported that Marlowe proposed to organize a bilateral series between India and Pakistan on UK soil in discussion with PCB Chairman Ramiz RajaHe believes that a three-match Test series can be organized because of the large number of South Asians in the UK.
Pakistan initially rejected England’s proposal. After the news of the proposal came to attention, India also rejected it. However, the case of saying ‘no’ in the two countries is differentPakistan has no objection to playing with India, but they are not willing to play at a neutral venue. Ramiz told Raja Darlo that they are grateful for the ECB’s offer. But organizing the game at a neutral venue means taking a step back from the PCBAfter the attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in 2009, no Test playing nation toured Pakistan for six consecutive years. Pakistan went into undeclared exile from hosting international cricket.
After burning a lot of wood, the PCB convinced the countries to visit Pakistan. England is the latest addition. Now playing at a neutral venue again means implicitly approving the security concerns. A BCCI official spoke to PTI about the ECB’s proposal after the news broke in the Telegraph. The official, who did not disclose his name, said, “Firstly, the ECB has spoken to the PCB about the India-Pakistan series, which is a bit strange.” And the decision to play the series against Pakistan is not in the hands of BCCI. It is a matter of government decision. At the moment our position is the same as before. We will play with Pakistan only in multinational tournaments. India-Pakistan last played a bilateral series in January 2013. The last time the two countries met in a Test was in 2007