Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Najam Sethi has flagged England and Australia among the primary hosts for the India-Pakistan Tests in the near future. Sethi feels if they can get a full house in the stadiums in Australia, it would be an excellent country to play in.
India and Pakistan haven't played a Test since the Benguluru Test in December 2007. The two countries haven't played in a bilateral white-ball series since 2012-13 when Pakistan toured India for three ODIs and two T20Is due to the political tension.
Meanwhile, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) had floated the idea of the iconic MCG staging the high-voltage clash following their T20 World Cup 2022 game. However, it's the first time that a senior figure has proposed the idea.
"Yes, I think bilateral Test matches can be played in Australia, England, South Africa. But I think the best bet would be England, and following that Australia. If you can get a house full in any of the Australian stadiums, fine, that would be great," Sethi said, as quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald.
Najam Sethi stiff on his stance regarding the Asia Cup and World Cup:
With the BCCI refusing to send their team to Pakistan for the Asia Cup, Sethi suggested a hybrid model, whereby the Men in Green could play their Asia Cup fixtures at home and India at another nation, voted by the Asian Cricket Council. In exchange, the 74-year-old prefers Pakistan to be able to play their World Cup games, including knockouts, outside India. He explained:
"Now if India doesn’t come to Pakistan to play the Asia Cup, my government’s going to say to me, we have the same sort of security concerns in India, so you can’t go to India to play the World Cup. And then following the World Cup, there’s going to be Champions Trophy. And that Champions Trophy is going to be hosted by Pakistan. And then India will turn around and say, ‘all right, we can’t come and play the Champions Trophy in Pakistan’".
"So, there is no end to this business of not coming to play. In order to protect the Champions Trophy and the World Cup, the ICC needs to negotiate with India ... that you must go to Pakistan and play, or working with us for a hybrid model so that the matches are not disrupted, these tournaments are not disrupted."
The ICC is yet to unveil the 2023 World Cup schedule despite the tournament being only five months away.
