Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has shared his thoughts on the possibility of India vs Pakistan bilateral series resuming after more than a decade. The two arch-rivals last played a bilateral series in 2012-13, but political tensions between the two nations have restricted their clashes only to ICC and ACC tournaments.
During a recent interaction on Ten Sports' show 'Dressing Room', Gavaskar made it clear that cricket ties between India and Pakistan can only resume if there is complete peace at the borders
He said, "If there's peace at the borders, then I think both governments will certainly say, 'Look, okay, we've had no incidents, nothing at all. So let's at least start talking',"
Gavaskar further added, "I'm pretty certain there will be some back-channel connections going on. But you want to see what's happening both on the ground and off the ground because of the fact that there are incursions we hear about. That's the reason why the Indian government is saying, "Look, maybe until all that stops, we should not even look at having or talking about anything".
India shares multiple borders with Pakistan which include Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. Indian government's stance has been consistent — as long as there is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism there won't be any bilateral series between the two & they can only play each other in ICC tournaments at a neutral venue.
India to face Pakistan at neutral venue
India recently defeated Pakistan by 6 wickets in the ongoing Champions Trophy 2025, further intensifying the cricketing rivalry. Meanwhile, reports suggest that cricket fans could witness three more India vs Pakistan matches later this year in the Asia Cup 2025, which is likely to be played in a neutral venue.
With India playing its Champions Trophy matches in Dubai due to political reasons, the upcoming Asia Cup could follow the same pattern, with Sri Lanka or UAE emerging as possible hosts. According to Cricbuzz report, To avoid such conflicts, the ACC has now decided that whenever India or Pakistan is supposed to host the Asia Cup, it will be played at a neutral venue.
