Ian Chappell: “I just think it’s damn ridiculous that you haven’t got Test matches between India and Pakistan”
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Former Australia captain Ian Chappell has called for the resumption of bilateral series between India and Pakistan, saying it’s ridiculous that they are not playing each other regularly.
India and Pakistan have not played a bilateral series since the latter toured India for two Twenty20 Internationals and three ODIs from December 2012 to January 2013.
Since then, the two arch-rivals have only clashed at major cricket events like the World Cup, T20 World Cup, Champions Trophy and Asia Cup.
Chappell pointed out that he has talked to Indian and Pakistani players in the past, with both parties saying they harbour no ill feelings towards the other side.
However, with political tensions remaining high between both countries, it doesn’t seem that they will resume playing bilateral series anytime soon. This, according to Chappell, hurts the fans as they are being deprived of watching one of the most entertaining rivalries in the sporting world.
He added that India and Pakistan should be playing Test matches regularly as it will help boost the longest format’s popularity and ensure it can survive at a time where more and more domestic T20 leagues are popping up.
“It is ridiculous,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan. “I did a tournament going way back to 1996 in Toronto, where India and Pakistan were both playing, and I remember talking to players from both sides. And I said why do you like to dislike each other? And they said, we don’t, we don’t dislike each other at all, we get on very well. And it was interesting to see how the teams mixed.
“But the one thing they said is the problem is the politicians. It’s the politicians who caused the animosity between the two. And I just think it’s damn ridiculous that you haven’t got Test matches between India and Pakistan.”
Eager to see the two nations clash in Test cricket, Chappell said other countries can host the matches if India and Pakistan want to play at a neutral venue. However, he admitted he would prefer if India toured Pakistan and vice versa.
“That’s where they should be playing Test cricket,” he said.
India and Pakistan recently played in the T20 World Cup, where the men in blue got knocked out by England in the semi-finals.
England faced Pakistan in the final and went on to win by five wickets to lift the trophy for the second time.