Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley has expressed interest in hosting an India-Pakistan bilateral series in Australia. A high-profile India-Pakistan bilateral series has not been played since 2012-13. The two teams only meet in International Cricket Federation international competition.
“If I can play a role in supporting and facilitating the India-Pakistan bilateral series, I would be happy to do so,” Hockley said. Indian Express Working with selected media.
In the recently concluded 2024 T20 World Cup, the two countries played a group stage match in New York, which India won by six runs. While Rohit Sharma’s Indian team ultimately went on to win the tournament, Babar Azam’s Pakistan were eliminated in the group stage.
Following the 2022 T20 World Cup, where 90,293 people watched a thrilling last-ball match between India and Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), the Melbourne Cricket Club (which operates the MCG) and the Victorian government have expressed their desire to host bilateral matches between the two teams at the MCG.
“We haven’t had any formal discussions in that regard, given the schedule, but we have said publicly that we would be happy to host an India-Pakistan bilateral series,” Hockley said.
The future of ODI cricket
Australia are the defending champions in one-day cricket but CA chairman Nick Hockley has suggested some matches will need to be played in 50-over bilateral series to keep ODIs in the foreseeable future.
“The ODI World Cup that India hosted last year was fantastic and I think the 10-team format is fantastic as every match matters,” he said.
“I think the challenge for world cricket is to ensure that every bilateral series is played. Every series has to have a Test-match like outcome that helps us progress to the World Test Championship (WTC) final.”
“We need something similar for the white-ball format and the other factors that have to do with rankings and World Cup qualification.”
“From Australia’s perspective, we will continue to place emphasis on all three formats and hope that each bilateral series will have an impact in terms of World Cup qualification,” he added.
