No India-Pakistan matches in ICC tournaments: A former cricketer’s advice to break the IND-PAK stalemate

Last updated:November 30, 2024, 1:40 PM IST

India and Pakistan now only play each other in ICC or continental events as bilateral cricket ties between them have been broken for over a decade.

India and Pakistan remained in the same group for next year’s Champions Trophy. (AP photo)

As the world awaits a decision from the International Cricket Council (ICC) on the fate of the 2025 Champions Trophy, in which both India and Pakistan are playing tough, former Pakistan wicketkeeper and batsman Kamran Akmal says the ICC does not allow Indo-Pak Matches should be scheduled before the two countries resume bilateral cricket.

Akmal said there should be no matches between the two countries at multinational events until a permanent solution to the issue is found. He said if a hybrid model is accepted for the Champions Trophy, it should be the norm for ICC events in India.

The Champions Trophy 2025 is scheduled to be played in Pakistan from February 19 to March 9. However, there is uncertainty after BCCI said it does not have the approval of the Indian government to travel to Pakistan and play its matches there.

A virtual ICC board meeting lasted just 15 minutes on Friday after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) refused to budge from its stance on a hybrid model that would see all India matches, a semi-final and the final played outside Pakistan.

With the ICC set to decide on the Champions Trophy soon, Akmal said it is time to find a permanent solution to the issue.

“At some point the ICC has to make a decision and I think now is the right time to find a permanent solution. If this Champions Trophy adopts a hybrid model where India does not come to Pakistan, then all other ICC events in India should adopt the same pattern and Pakistan should not travel to India,” Kamran said Telecommunications Asia Sports.

“In my opinion, another solution is that the ICC should not schedule Indo-Pak matches until there is a bilateral series. “Once they start competing against each other, only matches in a multinational event should take place,” Akmal was quoted as saying on the website.

“I am disappointed to see such a scenario but enough is enough as Pakistan toured India despite shifting a World Cup match from Dharamshala to Kolkata in 2016 and Pakistan played in Ahmedabad last year despite reservations.

“Pakistan needs to take a strong decision and stick to it. “This will help Pakistan create a good image,” he said.

Akmal termed India’s policy of not touring Pakistan but wanting them to play in India as a “double standard”.

“On the one hand, they don’t want to outplay us in political issues in Pakistan, but on the other hand, they outplay us in their country, and that is a double standard,” Akmal said.

Pakistan has not hosted an ICC event since 1996, while India has refused to play bilateral cricket with Pakistan after the Mumbai terror attack because Pakistan’s policies support terrorism in India. The last bilateral series between the two countries was in 2012-13 when Pakistan toured India for a five-match white-ball series.

The Champions Trophy is the latest event to be caught in the crossfire. Last year, Pakistan was forced to host the Asia Cup in a hybrid model, with all matches linked to India and a semi-final and final played in Sri Lanka.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – IANS).