Former India head coach Ravi Shastri responded to India's take on not travelling to Pakistan and not playing any bilateral series against the neighbouring nation. He reckons that India's decision to play against Pakistan depends on political relations and there is nothing to do with BCCI, ICC or anyone else.
The political tensions between India and Pakistan recently hit a new low after a brutal Pahalgan terror attack happened in Jammu and Kashmir. The T20 leagues (Indian Premier League), (Pakistan Super League) of both countries were postponed due to cross-border attacks.
Over the last decade, both India and Pakistan have faced each other only in white-ball ICC tournaments and have not played Test cricket since December 2007. There were suggestions that both countries should play Test cricket at a neutral venue but there is no development has been made for the same.
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In a discussion on Sky Sports, Michael Atherton asked Ravi Shastri about the possibility of an India-Pakistan Test series in future and stated that it would be a big boost for the format.
Ravi Shastri, in reply, agreed that it would be a boost to Test cricket but clearly stated it all depends on the political relations between the two sides, but the decision has nothing to do with BCCI or ICC, and it all depends on what politicians think.
"Yes, it all depends on political relations. It has nothing to do with BCCI, nothing to do with ICC, nothing to do with anyone else. It is no one else's business. It's what the politicians think, what's the state of relations between the two countries politically and that will determine whether India will play Pakistan or not. Nothing else" said Ravi Shastri.
India last faced Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, where the Rohit Sharma-led side defeated the arch-rivals by six wickets. The clash was supposed to take place in Pakistan, but after the BCCI's stance not to travel to the neighbouring nation, citing players' safety, the tournament was played in a hybrid model where matches featuring India were played in Dubai.
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