Several grounds in England have said they would be ‘open to exploring’ the possibility of hosting bilateral Test cricket between India and Pakistan, including Lord’s, The Oval and Edgbaston.
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India and Pakistan last played a Test match against each other in 2007/08, and last played bilateral white-ball cricket against each other in 2012/13, when Pakistan toured India for an ODI and T20I series. The two nations currently only play against each other in the Asia Cup and global tournaments, such as the 50-over World Cup, where India beat Pakistan on home soil last year, and the T20 World Cup.
The Indian government does not currently sanction bilateral fixtures against Pakistan, with political tensions between the two countries significant.
Last week, the issue of bilateral cricket between the two countries was risen again, when Rohit Sharma said in an interview with the Club Prairie Fire podcast that it would be “awesome” to for India to play Pakistan in a Test match hosted by a neutral nation.
“It’ll be a good contest, especially if you play overseas conditions,” said Rohit. “They’re [Pakistan] a good team. They have got a superb bowling lineup… At the end of the day, we want to be in contest and I think it will be a great contest between the two sides. We anyway play them in ICC trophies, so it doesn’t really matter. It’s just pure cricket that I’m looking at. I’m not interested in anything else. It’s pure cricket, game between bat and ball. It’ll be a great contest.”
Following Rohit’s comments, several English venues have expressed interest in hosting such a fixture. Representatives from Lord’s, and counties Surrey and Warwickshire (based at The Oval and Edgbaston respectively), told The Telegraph that they believed they could act as hosts. Surrey chief executive Steve Elworthy and Warwickshire chief executive Stuart Cain both said they would be supportive of plans to host India versus Pakistan at their respective grounds.
England has hosted several neutral men’s Tests over the last few years, most notably both of the World Test Championship finals in 2021 and 2023. Lord’s will host the World Test Championship final in 2025.
