India vs Pakistan: Several venues in UK explore possibility of hosting Test series between two arch-rivals

A week after India Captain Rohit Sharma sounded excited about playing a Test series against arch-rivals Pakistan on a neutral venue (during a podcast), several grounds in the UK (The Lord’s and The Oval in London) have expressed keen interest in hosting two giants of world cricket. As per the latest reports, three big venues in England (including Edgbaston) are exploring the possibility of making this dream contest a reality.

India and Pakistan last played a Test series in 2007/08 in India and a white-ball bilateral series six years later in 2012/13. Since then, both teams only played against each other in the Asia Cups or ICC-related events, including the T20 and ODI World Cups.

However, the Indian government doesn’t sanction bilateral fixtures between the two countries, with political tensions being a significant factor. Having said that, Rohit, during a recent chat at the Club Prairie Fire podcast, said it would be awesome to play Pakistan in a Test series hosted at a neutral venue.

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“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 line-up…At the end of the day, we want to be in a 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, the game between bat and ball. It’ll be a great contest,” Rohit said.

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However, shortly after that, Lord’s Cricket Ground's representatives and counties, including Surrey and Warwickshire (based at The Oval and Edgbaston, respectively), informed the UK-based outlet The Telegraph that they are willing to play hosts to this mouth-watering contest.

The reports also state that Surrey chief executive Steve Elworthy and Warwickshire chief executive Stuart Cain have expressed their desires to explore a chance of hosting India vs Pakistan at their respective venues.

Get ready for India-Pakistan clash

Though a Test series between India and Pakistan looks like a far-fetched dream for now, both teams are scheduled to face off in a marquee 2024 T20 World Cup clash on June 9 in New York.

Earlier, India and Pakistan faced each other thrice last year, twice in the Asia Cup and once during the 2023 World Cup, with India winning on all three occasions.