‘This is not in Rameez’s hands, nor mine,’ says Ganguly on resumption of the India-Pakistan bilateral series.

India and Pakistan haven’t played a bilateral series since 2012-13. Since then, the only platform where the two nations have met each other are the ICC tournaments. Be it ICC World Cup, T20 World Cup, or Champions Trophy, International Cricket Council (ICC) mostly includes India and Pakistan are in the same group as the rivalry between the two nations always draws eyeballs of more than a billion cricket fans. Reacting to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja's recent comments on the bilateral series between the two nations, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly has made a statement. Ganguly has said that it's not in the hands of the board and the respective governments of both countries have to work on it.

“This is not in Rameez’s hands, nor mine”

“This is not in the hands of the boards. At world tournaments, the two teams do play each other. Bilateral cricket has been stopped for years and this is something that the respective governments have to work on. This is not in Rameez’s hands, nor mine,” BCCI President said at the 40th Sharjah International Book Fair.

“The sporting model has been spoiled by politics and right now it is a status quo and we are not in a hurry on this issue because we have to focus on our domestic and local cricket,” the 49-year-old said at the 40th Sharjah International Book Fair on Saturday (November 13).

Nine years since last bilateral engagement

The last time when India and Pakistan played a bilateral series was when the Pakistan team toured India for three ODIs and two T20Is. Pakistan emerged victorious by 2-1 in the ODI series while the T20I series was leveled at 1-1. The two rivals have played 16 bilateral Test series and the last time they played a red-ball game was in 2007-08. Matches between India and Pakistan are always exciting and garner a lot of viewership. The last time India faced Pakistan in a white ball game was in the T20 World Cup 2021 in Dubai where Pakistan ended India's 12-match winning streak with a convincing 10-wicket win while chasing.