Hours after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Najam Sethi endorsed the idea of playing a Test series with arch-rivals India at a neutral venue like England or Australia, a Board of Cricket for Control in India (BCCI) source rubbished the proposal. Responding to the PCB chief’s proposal, the BCCI source clarified that India is not planning to play any bilateral series with Pakistan anytime soon.
The idea of hosting a Test series between India and Pakistan was floated by PCB last year but the BCCI has refused to entertain any bilateral ties. In a recent interview with the Australian newspaper Sydney Morning Herald, PCB chief Sethi opened up on the possibility of hosting a Test series between the two arch-rivals in a neutral venue like Australia or England.
“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 told SMH.
However, his proposal has been played down by the BCCI as a source in the Indian cricket board told the news agency ANI that there are no such plans in place. The source also asserted that the BCCI is not ready to entertain any bilateral ties 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,” the BCCI source was quoted as saying by ANI.
The comments come at a time when BCCI and PCB are involved in a long-standing standoff over the potential venue of the upcoming Asia Cup 2023. Pakistan are the official hosts of the tournament but BCCI has made it clear it won’t send the Indian team to the country with board secretary Jay Shah stating last year that the tournament will be moved to a neutral venue.
However, PCB is against the idea of moving the entire tournament away from Pakistan and had also proposed a ‘hybrid model’ which would see India play their matches at a neutral venue with the other teams playing in Pakistan. However, the Asian Cricket Council is yet to accept their proposal and there have been reports that Sri Lanka are favourites to host the tournament.
