There is hardly any cricketing rivalry in the world that attracts as much eyeballs as an India-Pakistan encounter, more so after the neighbouring countries scrapped bilateral cricket since 2012-13.
Since then, cricket between the two nations have been majorly restricted to multi-nation ICC tournaments and the last instance when the two sides clashed was the blockbuster encounter of the ODI World Cup last year in Ahmedabad. The two cricketing giants are next set to face off in the upcoming T20 World Cup on June 9, in New York.
For the rest of the cricketing world, hosting an India-Pakistan contest is nothing short of hitting the jackpot, with revenue soaring up invariably, and tickets sold out well in advance. When Australia hosted the T20 World Cup in 2020, the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) was packed with more than 90,000 witnessing India beat Pakistan in a nail-biting last-ball thriller.
Cricket Australia, along with Melbourne Cricket Club (operators of the MCG) and the Victorian government had then suggested that it was ready to serve as a neutral venue should the Indian and Pakistan cricket boards agree to play a bilateral series on their soil.
While their call went unanswered three years back, the Australian board on Tuesday once again expressed its willingness to host a bilateral series while announcing the international calendar for the upcoming summer, during which India will travel Down Under with a hope to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy during a five-match Test series, starting November 22.
Prior to the India series, Australia will also host Pakistan for three ODIs and as many T20Is at the start of November.
CA chief executive Nick Hockley reiterated that desire while announcing 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. 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,” Hockey said.
“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,” he added.
Cricket Australia’s head of scheduling Peter Roach felt that hosting a tri-series involving India, Pakistan and the hosts would be more engaging, rather than just a neutral bilateral series if that were possible but he noted there was no room in the current Future Tours Programme (FTP).
“We haven’t got a tri-series in the FTP. 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,” Roach said.
“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,” he later clarified.