India's players celebrate after winning the third one-day international and the series against Australia at the MCG in Melbourne
Credit: Reuters Photo
Melbourne: Cricket Australia has yet again expressed interest in hosting an India-Pakistan Test series if the two Asian neighbours agree to play against each other in future at a neutral venue.
India and Pakistan have not played a bilateral series since 2012-13 due to the diplomatic tension between the two nations. They lock horns only at the ICC or continental events.
Both India and Pakistan are scheduled to tour Australia in November this year.
Pakistan will play three ODIs and T20Is before India's five-Test series against the hosts.
The Melbourne Cricket Club and the Victorian government had expressed interest in hosting the two teams in bilateral matches at the MCG after close to one lakh people thronged the iconic stadium to watch India and Pakistan clash during the 2022 T20 World Cup.
"I think anyone that was here for the India-Pakistan game at the MCG, it will go down as one of the most memorable occasions, not just sporting occasions, that I've ever been to," CA chief executive Nick Hockley said according to ESPNCricinfo.
"So people want to see that contest. We would love to host that if the opportunity arose. If we can play a role, we'd love to play a role.
"We're so excited to host Pakistan. We're so excited to host India. If we can help, that's great. But I think in many ways, that's a bilateral series. It's really for others to make that happen."
CA's head of scheduling Peter Roach acknowledged said they are not averse to idea of hosting on tri-series ODI, involving India and Pakistan, like it happened back in 1999-2000 season, though he admitted that it will be difficult to squeeze in a series in an already choc-a-bloc calender.
"We haven't got a tri-series in the FTP. Going forward, we're always interested in opportunities for matches and contests that will engage our fans. It's fair to say every country in the world would love to see India and Pakistan compete in their country.
"We're on record as saying we're one of those countries that has asked the question. There's no room in the schedules to do that at the moment. We'll keep talking to them in any other opportunities that arise, but in this specific example there are not going to be any changes to the schedule."