"6 Years Without India vs Pakistan": Ex-India Star Fumes At ICC Over WTC Format

Team India suffered a 209-run defeat against Australia in the World Test Championship final at The Oval and lost another ICC trophy. Skipper Rohit Sharma, who took charge as the leader after the team's exit from the T20 World Cup in 2021, under the captaincy of Virat Kohli. However, he has also not been able to make India victorious in an ICC tournament, as they had last claimed it in 2013 under MS Dhoni. After India's debacle in the WTC final, many experts and former cricketers have been expressing their opinions regarding the same. Similarly, former India batter Aakash Chopra has come up with an interesting idea for the upcoming WTC cycle. 

The former batter has stated that being an ICC event, WTC should also host the Test matches between the arch-rivals India and Pakistan as it would grab a lot of attention from the fans and would be a great start to the cycle.

"You don't play against all teams. But this is WTC, it's an ICC event. It has been 4 years now... can you imagine an ICC event without India vs Pakistan? This can never happen. It's always at the start of the tournament so it gets off to a great start commercially. It gets the highest rating and people make money," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

"So, is WTC not an ICC event? It's an ICC mace, they host the final. So, all the matches that take place in the cycle should be in the purview of the ICC. It will be 6 years, and you didn't have a single India-Pakistan series. This is also an ICC event. If it's not, make it clear. Call it bilateral cricket and accept that you have made WTC just to glamorize Tests," he further said.

India and Pakistan don't play against each other in bilateral series due to political tensions between the nations. However, both teams played in the T20 World Cup in 2022, where India emerged as the winner by four wickets. 

Talking about the Tests, after facing a defeat in the WTC final, India will begin their 2023 cycle with a series against West Indies, starting from July 12. The teams will play two Tests, three ODIs and five T20Is.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Australia Cricket Team Pakistan Cricket Team Rohit Sharma Virat Kohli Aakash Chopra Cricket