ICC Should Not Have India-Pakistan Matches Till They Resume Bilateral Series, Says Kamran Akmal

Mumbai, Nov 30: As the world awaits a decision by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on the fate of the Champions Trophy 2025 with both India and Pakistan playing hardball, former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal says ICC should not schedule Indo-Pak matches till the two countries resume bilateral cricket.

Akmal said there should be no matches between the two countries in multi-national events till a permanent solution is found to this issue. He said if a hybrid model is accepted for the Champions Trophy, it should be the norm for ICC events hosted in India.

The Champions Trophy 2025 is slated to be played in Pakistan from February 19 to March 9. However, it has run into uncertainty after BCCI said it did not have the Indian government’s consent to travel and play its matches in Pakistan.

A virtual ICC Board meeting lasted just 15 minutes Friday after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) refused to budge from its stance against a hybrid model with all India matches, one semifinal and the final to be played outside Pakistan.

With the ICC set to decide on the Champions Trophy soon, Akmal said it is time to find a permanent solution to this problem.

“The ICC has to make a decision sometime and I think this is the right time to find a permanent solution. If this Champions Trophy adopts a hybrid model with India not coming to Pakistan, then all other ICC events in India should adopt the same pattern with Pakistan not touring India," Kamran told Telecom Asia Sport in an exclusive interview.

"In my opinion, another solution is that the ICC should not schedule Indo-Pak matches until and unless there is a bilateral series. Once they start playing each other then only we should have matches in a multi-national event," Akmal was quoted as saying by the website.

“I am disappointed to see such a scenario but enough is enough as Pakistan have toured India despite one 2016 World Cup match shifted from Dharamshala to Kolkata and then Pakistan played in Ahmedabad last year despite reservations.

“Pakistan will have to take a strong decision and stick to it. That will help Pakistan create a good image,” he said.

Akmal labelled India’s policy of not touring Pakistan but wanting them to play in India as “double standard".

“On one hand they don’t want to play us in Pakistan on political issues but on the other hand they play us in their country and that is a double standard,” said Akmal.

Pakistan have not hosted an ICC event since 1996 while India have refused to play bilateral cricket with Pakistan following the Mumbai terror attack over Pakistan's polity to support terrorism in India. The last bilateral series betweeen the two countries was in 2012-13 when Pakistan toured India for five-match white-ball series.

The Champions Trophy is the latest event to be caught in the crossfire. Last year, Pakistan were forced to host the Asia Cup in a hybrid model with all matches involving India, a semifinal and final being played in Sri Lanka.

(IANS)