SCO Summit 2024: No discussions on India-Pakistan cricket resumption during Jaishankar's Islamabad visit

During External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar's recent visit to Islamabad, no discussions were held regarding the resumption of cricket ties between India and Pakistan, according to official sources. Jaishankar was in Pakistan to participate in the 23rd Meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government.

Despite anticipation, Indian media sources confirmed that there were no talks surrounding the revival of bilateral cricketing relations between the two countries, which have been strained since 2008 due to ongoing geopolitical tensions linked to terrorism.

However, according to local Pakistan media, the conversation between the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India commenced with cricket as the focal point. Pakistan took the lead by proposing that the dialogue between the two nations should kick off with a discussion centered around cricket.

Sources also reveal that the two foreign ministers were initially seated apart, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs later revised the seating arrangement to ensure they sat side by side.

India last toured Pakistan during the 2008 Asia Cup. The final bilateral series between the two nations took place in India from December 2012 to January 2013. Since then, the two teams have only faced each other in ICC events and Asia Cup tournaments. In contrast, Pakistan has travelled to India three times since 2008 for cricketing events.

With Pakistan set to host the ICC Champions Trophy next year, the prospect of India travelling to Pakistan remains uncertain. Reports have surfaced that the International Cricket Council (ICC) is exploring three potential options for hosting the tournament.

One possibility is to proceed with Pakistan as the sole host, as originally planned. Another is a hybrid model where some matches, including those involving India and knockout stages, would be played in Dubai. The third option is to move the entire tournament out of Pakistan, with Dubai, Sri Lanka, or South Africa being considered as alternative hosts.

Pakistan has not hosted a major ICC event since the 1996 ODI World Cup, which it co-hosted with India and Sri Lanka. The country was set to co-host the 2011 edition, but its rights were revoked following a 2009 terror attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team's bus in Lahore.