Cricket Australia reaffirms desire to host India-Pakistan bilateral series

NewsCA would offer Australian venues if the BCCI and PCB show any desire to restart bilateral relations

Cricket Australia has reaffirmed its willingness to host a bilateral series between India and Pakistan if the BCCI and PCB agree to playing each other in the future.

India and Pakistan’s men’s teams will be in Australia at the same time in November this year after CA announced the schedule for Australia’s next home summer with Pakistan playing three ODIs and T20Is before India start a five-Test series just four days later on November 22, although there was never a realistic chance of matches between the two nations as part of the visits.

India and Pakistan have not played a bilateral series since 2012-13 and currently only meet at global ICC events.

After the success of the 2022 T20 World Cup match between India and Pakistan at the MCG, when 90,293 witnessed a last-ball thriller, CA, the Melbourne Cricket Club (operators of the MCG) and the Victorian government expressed an interest in hosting the two teams in bilateral matches at the MCG.

CA chief executive Nick Hockley reiterated that desire when he announced Australia’s home schedule at the MCG on Wednesday.

“I think anyone that was here for the India-Pakistan game at the MCG, it will go down as one of the most memorable occasions, not just sporting occasions, that I’ve ever been to,” he said. “So people want to see that contest. We would love to host that if the opportunity arose. If we can play a role, we’d love to play a role.

“We’re so excited to host Pakistan. We’re so excited to host India. If we can help, that’s great. But I think in many ways, that’s a bilateral series. It’s really for others to make that happen.”

CA’s head of scheduling Peter Roach acknowledged on Tuesday that there would also be some interest in hosting a tri-series, which last happened involving India and Pakistan during the 1999-2000 season, rather than just a neutral bilateral series if that were possible but he noted there was no room in the current FTP.

“We haven’t got a tri-series in the FTP,” Roach said. “Going forward we’re always interested in opportunities for matches and contests that will engage our fans. It’s fair to say every country in the world would love to see India and Pakistan compete in their country.

“We’re on record as saying we’re one of those countries that has asked the question. There’s no room in the schedules to do that at the moment. We’ll keep talking to them in any other opportunities that arise, but in this specific example there are not going to be any changes to the schedule.”

Alex Malcolm is an associate editor at ESPNcricinfo