No plans for India-Pakistan Test series, BCCI not ready: Report
According to Pakistani media outlets, Najam Sethi gave a green signal to a bilateral series between the neighbouring countries and suggested England, Australia and South Africa for neutral venues.
New Delhi: Hours after reports of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Najam Sethi agreeing to a bilateral Test series between India and Pakistan on a neutral venue, BCCI has stated that they have no plans for such series. As reported by news agency ANI, BCCI is not ready for a bilateral series with Pakistan.
According to Pakistani media outlets, Najam Sethi gave a green signal to a bilateral series between the neighbouring countries and suggested England, Australia and South Africa for neutral venues. A source close to BCCI told ANI that the board has no plans for such a series in the future and India is not ready for a bilateral series with Pakistan.
No plans for such kind of series to happen in the future or upcoming days. We aren’t ready for any kind of bilateral series with Pakistan: BCCI source to ANI
Today Pakistan media reported that PCB chairman Najam Sethi gave a green signal to a potential Pakistan-India Test series…
— ANI (@ANI) May 17, 2023
Najam Sethi also opposed to the proposed model of revenue by ICC which gives 38.5 percent of the total revenue to BCCI as the Indian board contributes the largest share to ICC’s revenue.
Last year, Martin Darlow, the deputy chairperson of the ECB, proposed the idea of host the bilateral Test series in England to former PCB chief Ramiz Raja. English batter Moeen Ali also said it is a shame that the two nations do not play each other.
India and Pakistan only play each other in multi-nation or ICC tournaments. They have not played a men’s bilateral series since January 2013 and the last Test series between them was played back in December 2007. The teams have a chance to play a Test match against each other if they reach the finals of the World Test Championship in the upcoming cycles.
The political tensions between the neighbouring nations also gave rise to the questions on Pakistan hosting the upcoming Men’s Asia Cup and India hosting ICC Men’s World Cup 2023. While India’s games in the Asia Cup are likely to shifted to a neutral venue, there is no such proposal for Pakistan’s team coming to India for the World Cup.