Interestingly, none of the Indian greats like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Chesteshwar Pujara to name a few, haven’t played a single Test match against Pakistan.
New Delhi: India captain Rohit Sharma welcomed the idea of playing Test cricket against arch-rivals Pakistan, even it’s in a neutral venue. India have not played a single Test against Pakistan in a bilateral series since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks in which over 150 people were killed. The last Test between the two nations took place in Bengaluru back in 2007. Although Pakistan toured India in 2012-13, no Tests were played during that series. The two countries, however, routinely face off in ICC events.
As a result, none of the current Indian greats like Rohit, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane among the few haven’t played a single Test match against Pakistan. “I totally believe that they are a good team, superb bowling line-up, good contest, if we play overseas. The last Test was played way back in 2007-08,” Rohit said on Club Prairie Fire Podcast, hosted by former Australian keeper-batter Adam Gilchrist and former England skipper Michael Vaughan.
“Yeah, I would love to (play against Pakistan), it would be a great contest between two sides. We play them in ICC trophies, pure cricket I am looking at, great contest, so why not?” he said when asked whether Indo-Pak Tests are possible at a neutral venue like England or Australia.
The BCCI has maintained that any decision on bilateral cricket with Pakistan will hinge on approval from the government, which has so far not permitted cricketing engagement with the arch-foes. Pakistan, on the other hand, has been aggressively pushing for bilateral engagement with India, even taking it up at ICC forums at every available opportunity.
Last year, India refused to travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup, which was eventually conducted in a hybrid model. All of India’s scheduled games in Pakistan were relocated to Sri Lanka. The next year’s Champions Trophy will be another bone of contention between the two countries as the tournament is set to be held in Pakistan, which has declared that it won’t agree to any change of venue to accommodate India.
The ICC, on its part, has stated that it won’t force any member nation to disregard government advisory. “…ICC Board’s position remains that it doesn’t expect its members to go against any policy/instructions issued by its own government,” an ICC official had stated recently. Interestingly, the two sides also do not meet in the World Test Championships.