ECB Offers To Play Neutral Hosts For Possible India-Pakistan Test Series; BCCI And PCB Respond: Reports

India and Pakistan bilateral series is a very financially lucrative prospect and it seems the England and Wales cricket Board (ECB) are eyeing some part of the monetary pie. Ever since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, India and Pakistan have only played one bilateral series in 2012-13.

That series consisted of three ODIs and one T20I and saw the debut of Bhuvneshwar Kumar for India. The last Test series between the two sides came in 2007 which was played in India. Ever since then, India and Pakistan have clashed only in ICC events and Asia Cup tournaments.

Pakistan recently beat India in the T20 World cup 2021 and then again in Asia Cup 2022 super 4s stage. Meanwhile, the Indian team has always had the upper hand on their neighbors in World Cup events.

However, seeing the players from both sides in a Test series has been a dream of fans as neither Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, or Cheteshwar Pujara have played a five-day game against Pakistan, and similarly, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Afridi are yet to test their might against India in a red ball game.

But it seems the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is keen to host India and Pakistan for a Test series in England citing the large Asian population in the country and of course, for the monetary gains.

As per reports of the Telegraph newspaper ECB has informally offered this to both BCCI and PCB: “Martin Darlow, the deputy chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, has held talks with the Pakistan Cricket Board during the current Twenty20 series and offered England’s grounds as venues for ideally a three-match Test series in future.”

The newspaper states precisely the reason why the ECB made the “generous offer”.

“The matches would attract big crowds in the UK, which has a large ex-pat south Asian population. The matches attract huge sponsorship revenue and television audiences,” it added.

BCCI And PCB Reject The Offer From ECB For India V Pakistan Test Series In England

Clearly, the offer by the ECB was made for its financial gains, both the BCCI and the PCB have rejected the proposal citing different reasons. For the BCCI, their stance has always been that playing Pakistan bilaterally with being a decision made by the Indian government and the possibility of getting the nod for doing so is nil in near future.

“Firstly, ECB spoke to PCB about an Indo-Pak series and that’s a bit weird. In any case, a series against Pakistan is not something that the BCCI will decide but it is the decision of the government. As of now, the stance remains the same. We only play Pakistan at multi-team events,” a senior BCCI official told PTI.

With the tense political relations between the neighbors, it is a big ‘No’ from BCCI irrespective of whether it is played at home, away or in a neutral venue.

Meanwhile, Telegraph also reported that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has thanked the ECB for the offer but said a firm no. The PCB stated that since international cricket has returned to Pakistan, playing someone like India at a neutral venue will be harmful to its image.

“PCB is not keen on playing India at neutral venue but are grateful for the ECB’s offer, which shows the growing relationship between the two boards. It stated that with the big nations again starting to tour Pakistan, it will be a “retrograde step in their eyes” if they happen to play on a neutral venue,” the report stated.

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