Najam Sethi, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief, has proposed the possibility of playing India and Pakistan bilateral Tests at neutral venues outside Asia. In response to concerns that a World Cup boycott due to a scheduling dispute may occur, the Pakistan Cricket Board says they are open to hosting a highly anticipated neutral Test against India in Australia.
If they can draw a large crowd, Australia would be a contender to host a series between the two most competitive teams in international cricket, according to PCB chair Najam Sethi.
Despite the popularity of India-Pakistan matches at the box office, the countries’ political problems prevent them from meeting frequently outside of major competitions. They haven’t faced off in a test since December 2007, and their most recent bilateral series in any format was in 2013.
Melbourne proved its mettle as 90,293 spectators jammed the MCG in October to watch Pakistan and India play a thrilling T20 World Cup group game, despite Sethi’s doubts about Australian fans flocking to watch them play. In both Melbourne and Sydney, there is a sizable diaspora of Indian and Pakistani people.
“Yes, I think bilateral Test matches can be played in Australia, England, South Africa. But I think the best bet would be England, and following that Australia. If you can get a house full in any of the Australian stadiums, fine, that would be great,” Sethi said to Sydney Morning Herald.
When they were unable to play at home in the wake of the Lahore terror events in 2009, Pakistan hosted matches in England and the United Arab Emirates in 2019. Australia was “on the radar” as a potential opponent, but Sethi claimed that playing India in Dubai would be less expensive.
In Order To Protect The Champions Trophy And The World Cup, The ICC Needs To Negotiate With India: Najam Sethi
Sethi has proposed a hybrid model where Asia Cup matches could be staged in Pakistan and another nation to be voted on by the Asian Cricket Council, led by BCCI secretary Jay Shah. In return, Sethi wants Pakistan to be able to play their World Cup games outside of India, including knockout matches.
“Now if India doesn’t come to Pakistan to play the Asia Cup, my government’s going to say to me, we have the same sort of security concerns in India, so you can’t go to India to play the World Cup. And then following the World Cup, there’s going to be Champions Trophy.
And that Champions Trophy is going to be hosted by Pakistan. And then India will turn around and say, ‘all right, we can’t come and play the Champions Trophy in Pakistan’. So, there is no end to this business of not coming to play,” Sethi said.
“In order to protect the Champions Trophy and the World Cup, the ICC needs to negotiate with India … that you must go to Pakistan and play, or working with us for a hybrid model so that the matches are not disrupted, these tournaments are not disrupted,” he signed off.