Michael Atherton, the former England skipper believes Pakistan has suffered huge financial losses over the past decade due to their inability to play India in bilateral events.
Former England captain Michael Atherton has said that Pakistan’s inability to play a bilateral series against India since 2012/13 is responsible for the financial losses faced by PCB over the past decade.
Michael Atherton: Pakistan Has Incurred Loses For No India-Pakistan Bilateral Matches Since 2012/13
However, India and Pakistan have been meeting each other at bilateral series with their most recent tie coming at the 2019 World Cup. Efforts to hold bilateral series in the past have not worked in favour, resulting in very limited episodes of one of cricket’s greatest rivalries.
“Pakistan’s inability to play India in bilateral events has cost them hundreds of millions of dollars in the past decade, or how being in exile in the UAE for nearly a decade cost significant amounts of financial and psychological capital,” Atherton wrote in his column for The Times.
The last time India and Pakistan faced each other was in the round-robin stage of the 2019 ODI World Cup, where the former won by 89 runs (DLS method). Their last T20 World Cup face-off resulted in India’s 6-wicket win over Men in Green in Kolkata in the 2016 edition.
Michael Atherton: Pakistan Played Most Matches Away After Covid-19 Induced Break
Michael Atherton further pointed out that Pakistan has played the most number of matches away from home since cricket resumed after the Covid-19 break. Michael Atherton added that countries like England and Australia have had the luxury of backing off from tours or not travelling away from home for a significant period of time.
“When England have pulled out of tours to South Africa, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, and when Australia have played no Test matches away from home since the pandemic began, Pakistan has traveled all over the world (and, remember, there are no touring fees paid to the visitors these days).
“Pakistan has played the most number of matches away from home since Covid struck, by some distance,” Atherton further wrote.
India and Pakistan have not played the Test series for more than 14 years. As far as bilateral series in ODIs and T20Is are concerned, it has been over eight years. But they face off each other during ICC events and Asia Cup.
The political tension between the two neighbouring countries flared up after the terror attack in Mumbai’s Taj Hotel in 2008. The last T20 match played between the two teams was in 2016 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata during T20 World Cup. India and Pakistan will square off for the first after five years in a T20 International match.
England was scheduled to travel to Rawalpindi in October for two Twenty20 Internationals, in what was supposed to be their first visit to Pakistan since 2005 while New Zealand last played in Pakistan in 2003. Both the countries pulled out at the last minute as England followed the Kwis example thus receiving a heavy backlash from Pakistan fans. New Zealand pulled out of their Pakistan tour even before play started in the 1st ODI in Rawalpindi.