Australian batter Usman Khawaja has expressed his sadness over not being able to watch the India-Pakistan bilateral series. The arch-rivals do not play regular cricket with each other due to the tensions between both the governments.
The last bilateral series between India and Pakistan happened in 2012-13, when Pakistan came to India for a three-match ODI and T20I series. However, they now only play against each other in ICC competitions. Furthermore, it has been 13 years since the two sides last met in a Test match. The last encounter between them in the longest format took place in 2007. The match ended in a draw but Sourav Ganguly scored a double century and registered his highest Test score.
The Islamabad-born Australian cricketer revealed how his parents got excited over the historic rivalry between India and Pakistan.
“The thing I miss most about international cricket and I know growing up watching my parents watch with, my dad watching cricket, it’s the India vs Pakistan matches. I absolutely hate the fact that it doesn’t happen anymore. I think it’s the biggest thing that cricket is missing and it’ll be such an amazing thing if we can get those two countries to play again," Khawaja said on his YouTube channel.
I've talked to ICC and CA
In addition, the 34-year-old said that he has talked with members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Cricket Australia about the situation (CA). Also, he's doing everything he can to get regular cricket between India and Pakistan back on track.
Despite the fact that the countries are at odds, Khawaja believes that this endeavor would bring them together.
While bilateral series are on an indefinite hold, India and Pakistan are all set to face each other in T20 World Cup this year on October 24. It will be exciting to watch how Pakistan fares against India considering what all said by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja. Also, it will be another chance for register their first win over India in ICC World Cup events.
