Chopra calls for India-Pakistan series to be included in ICC WTC

Indian cricketer commentator has expressed his disappointment over the non-inclusion of the India-Pakistan series as part of the World Test Championship (WTC) cycles

PHOTO: FILE

For the first two cycles of the World Test Championship, India and Pakistan haven't crossed swords and for the upcoming cycle for the year 2023-25, will not be meeting each other on the field either.

Shedding light on the recently released schedule of the World Test Championship (WTC), former Indian cricketer and now a commentator, Aakash Chopra, has raised questions on the International Cricket Council (ICC) regarding why India and Pakistan haven't faced each other in the World Test Championship. Most importantly, when both nations are considered arch rivals, and their matches have been safely labeled as 'towering clashes' in the rest of the ICC major tournaments.

"You don't play against all teams. Can you imagine an ICC event in this decade where India-Pakistan don't play at all, that they don't play bilaterals against each other, so they won't play in ICC events as well - it never happens like that,' Chopra said.

The 45-year-old stated that ICC lines up Indo-Pak matches in a way that would raise their finances graph in other ICC events; keeping the economic dynamics in mind, isn't WTC counted as an ICC event then?

"The truth is that they get them to play the first or second match so that the tournament gets off to a good start because the commerce and economics say that India-Pakistan's rating will go sky-high. So is WTC not an ICC event?" he questioned.

Chopra seemed to be upset about the exclusion of Indo-Pak matches in the previous two WTC cycles as well.

"You get the ICC mace in the end, and ICC hosts the final. So all the matches should come under the ICC's purview because this championship itself is ICC's. If that is the case, we don't have a series even once in four years - that is not fine," he further added.

Geographical and political tensions have almost put Indo-Pak bilateral series on a halt. Both nations, despite being avid cricket fans, haven't locked horns with each other in a bilateral series since 2012. However, when it comes to global events.