
India and Pakistan haven't played a bilateral series since early 2013. Due to the political tension between the neighbouring countries, both sides continue to meet each other only in multi-nation or ICC events. During last year's T20 World Cup, in the UAE, the two Asian giants squared off against each other in the Super 12 round, which was a sellout in no time.
Thus, Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja remains hopeful of a fruitful talk with the Sourav Ganguly-led Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to convince their counterpart for a bilateral series in 2024-25. For the unversed, PCB will hold talks with the BCCI in Dubai, from April 7-10, and is expecting a favourable response from the latter, keeping politics aside.
As per PTI, Ramiz is planning to the senior BCCI officials on the sidelines of the ICC event andextend his proposal of a four-nation tournament along with discussing matters on the Asia Cup.
In a recent interview, Ramiz had mentioned that since the BCCI is being led by a cricketer, he has his hopespinnedon not leavingfans deprivedofIndia-Pakistan bilateral series.
"India-Pakistan (2022 T20 World Cup) tickets were sold in one day, we don't have a political perspective on things and if a fellow cricketer is leading the BCCI, we should be approachable to each other since we don't know politics," said Ramiz.
"I'll talk to Ganguly regarding a four-nation tournament. The future of cricket is in triangular and four-nation competitions. Twenty20 leagues are taking away eyeballs from bilateral cricket, of which the novelty factor is decreasing," he further added.
After the New Zealand tour of Pakistan got cancelled at the last minute in September 2021, with the tourists citing security concerns, the Men in Green have got back to hosting games and recently held an all-format series against Australia. Thus, Ramiz remains confident of Pakistan getting more hosting rights in the future and has a window open in the 2024-25 to host India.