Why Not?: Rohit Sharma Backs Idea Of Playing Bilateral Test Series Against Arch-Rivals Pakistan

Rohit Sharma, captain of the Indian Cricket Team, is open to playing a Test series against the arch-rivals Pakistan and mentioned that it will be a great contest and will be beneficial for the longer format of the game.

Hyderabad: India skipper Rohit Sharma embraced the idea of having a bilateral Test series between India and their arch-rivals Pakistan saying they are a good team and it would be a great contest between bat and ball. However, he also asserted that everyone wants pure cricket and he is interested in nothing else.

The India-Pakistan cricket rivalry is one of the most intense and historic in the world of sports. It's not just about the game of bat and ball, but it's much more than that for the cricket fans as many emotions and political disputes are also somewhere attached to it. Many cricket experts have also rated the Indo-Pak rivalry ahead of another fierce battle - the Ashes rivalry between England and Australia.

The cricket boards of both countries haven't come on the same page for a decade to play a bilateral series. The last Test series between the two teams was played back in 2007 when Pakistan came visiting and lost 1-0 while they last played white-ball series (3 ODIs and 3 T20Is) 12 years ago (2012-13 season). Notably, currently both the cricketing giants have been meeting only in multi-nation tournaments like the ICC World Cups, Champions Trophy and Asia Cup tournaments.

Answering former England captain Michael Vaughan's question on the Club Prairie Fire podcast, Rohit said, "I totally believe that! They are a good team. The last test match played between India and Pakistan was way back I think in 2006 or 2008 (2007), where (former India opener) Wasim Jaffar got a double hundred in Kolkata."

Rohit also mentioned that regardless of the occasion, whether in ICC tournaments or bilateral series, what matters most is the brand and the quality of cricket – a fierce battle between bat and ball.

"I would love to. At the end of the day, we want to be in the contest. I think it will be a great contest between the two sides. We anyway play them in the ICC tournaments. So, it doesn't even matter. It's pure cricket that I am looking at. I am not interested in anything else. It's just pure cricket. A battle between bat and ball. It will be a great contest so why not," stressed the 36-year-old.

According to the reports, in 2022, the England Cricket Board (ECB) had offered both cricket boards to host men's Test series in England in an attempt to end the long wait for a bilateral series between the two sides. Martin Darlow, the ECB's deputy chair, was on a tour of Pakistan for England's T20I series and floated the idea to then PCB chairman Ramiz Raja during his visit.

With the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 looming closer, India and Pakistan are all set to face off against each other in another intense World Cup clash in New York on June 9.

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