A recent report from The Telegraph, a British daily, has unveiled that representatives from several England stadiums have shown interest in hosting the highly anticipated bilateral Test series between Pakistan and India. This interest follows a suggestion made by Indian skipper Rohit Sharma during a recent interview.
According to The Telegraph, prestigious venues such as Lord’s, The Oval, and Edgbaston have expressed enthusiasm to host the fierce cricketing rivalry. Representatives from Lord’s, Surrey, and Warwickshire have conveyed their confidence in their stadiums’ ability to serve as potential hosts for these matches.
Steve Elworthy, the chief executive of Surrey, and Stuart Cain, the chief executive of Warwickshire, have both voiced their support for the proposal to hold the India-Pakistan matches at their respective grounds.
Rohit Sharma’s suggestion came to light during an interview with the Club Prairie Fire podcast, where he underscored the excitement surrounding the prospect of hosting a Test match between India and Pakistan in a neutral country. He emphasized the competitive spirit between the teams and reiterated his focus solely on the game of cricket.
The last Test match between India and Pakistan took place during the 2007/08 season, while their last bilateral white-ball series occurred in 2012/13 when Pakistan toured India for ODIs and T20Is.
Presently, encounters between the two nations are restricted to events like the Asia Cup and global tournaments such as the 50-over World Cup, where India emerged victorious over Pakistan on home soil last year, and the T20 World Cup.
Political tensions between India and Pakistan have led to the Indian government’s reluctance to endorse bilateral matches, creating obstacles to regular cricketing engagements between the two nations.
