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As part of the next future tours programme (FTP), the total number of teams is likely to be increased in the upcoming cycles of the World Test Championship (WTC). A change in the structure of the tournament is also possible. Amid the speculations of a revised FTP blueprint, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi has made some significant comments.
The Pakistan cricket team is currently in Bangladesh for a two-match Test series. Naqvi was there in Dhaka for the first of the two-match Test series. Amid the series, a reporter asked Naqvi about the Pakistan cricket team’s plans and against which teams they will play in the upcoming days.
Pakistan to play vs India in the World Test Championship?
There has been tension between Pakistan and India for a long time now. Because of the political tension, they only face each other on cricket grounds during ICC events, that too on neutral venues.
If the proposed FTP comes into effect, then the teams may have to play on home and away games. Under this possible scenario, where the team could ask to play on home and away conditions, will a Test match be played between India and Pakistan? This has been the question.
Amid the tension between the two nations, Mohsin Naqvi has made a significant comment. He said that their national cricket team will play against all nations. “Har mulk ke sath khelenge (We will play against all nations),” the PCB chief told the reporter.
PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi shared an update about discussions with the Bangladesh Cricket Board and also spoke about Pakistan’s overall Future Tours Programme. #TOKSports #MohsinNaqvi pic.twitter.com/j6VOkxh650
— TOK Sports (@TOKSports021) May 9, 2026
England can play multiple 5-match Test series
The England cricket team is all set to go through a busy Test schedule in the coming months. The Guardian reported that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is abandoning the principle of aiming for reciprocal home and away series in the next World Test Championship (WTC), which will begin with the home Ashes series next summer.
It is reported that the ECB is in talks with the South African and Pakistani cricket teams for conducting a bilateral Test series. If the plans are implemented according to the original plans, then the England cricket team can face South Africa and Pakistan for a 5-match Test series. In addition, England could face Sri Lanka and Bangladesh each for a single Test match.
A newly-structured WTC is shaping behind the curtain
Earlier, on April 10, 2026, ESPNCricinfo reported, “According to one official, the board will have to consider two things: whether one-off Tests are acceptable as part of the WTC, and whether it is financially sustainable for the three non-WTC teams to commit to two years or more of Test cricket.”
Days later, it seems that the proposed structure to engage more teams in the WTC tournament, the ECB has taken a step further in the process. In the future, even a single Test match can be considered as part of the WTC cycle.
“The ECB is responding to the International Cricket Council’s plans to expand the WTC to all 12 Test-playing nations, with Ireland, Zimbabwe, and Afghanistan to be included for the first time in a single division,” The Guardian reported on May 8.
“The ECB is in favour of the so-called one-Test series solution because it would give more opportunities to smaller nations, as well as complementing their own strategy to safeguard the oldest and longest form of the game,” it also claimed.
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