Ravi Shastri opines on future of Pakistan-India Tests

LEEDS: Former India cricketer and head coach Ravi Shastri asserted that the future of Test matches between arch-rivals Pakistan and India is tied to the political relations of the two neighbouring countries.

Pakistan and India last played a bilateral series in 2012/13, while they last competed in a Test match in the 2007/08 season.

The two teams have since then faced each other only in multilateral tournaments such as the ICC World Cups, Champions Trophy and Asia Cups due to their political differences, which further heightened last month.

Recently, several cricket boards and stadiums offered to host the highly-anticipated red-ball contest between two Asian giants at a neutral venue but there has been no development in this regard.

The possibility of a Pakistan-India Test was once again discussed by former cricketer Michael Atherton on the sidelines of the ongoing first Test between England and India at Headingley.

During the match analysis, Atherton asked Shastri to give his verdict on the future and possibility of a Pakistan-India Test, stating it would be a major boost to the format.

Shastri, in response, acknowledged the fixture to serve as a major boost to the format but argued that it only depends on the political relations between the two countries and not on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the International Cricket Council (ICC).

"Yes, it all depends on political relations. It has nothing to do with BCCI, nothing to do with ICC, nothing to do with anyone else. It is no one else's business. It's what the politicians think, what's the state of relations between the two countries politically and that will determine whether India will play Pakistan or not. Nothing else," said Ravi Shastri.