Australia is ready to host series with India and Pakistan, says CA boss Nick Hockley

Sport

Cricket Australia boss Nick Hockley said Australia was ready to host a series with India and Pakistan and said the country would be happy to provide a platform to resume the rivalry between the arch-rivals. Hockley added that a large expatriate community from both India and Pakistan in Australia will provide them with a great platform to market one of the most anticipated competitions in world cricket.

India and Pakistan have not played bilateral cricket for almost a decade due to cross-border tensions, but the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief recently said he would propose the 4-national tournament featuring India, Pakistan, Australia and England to the ICC, saying, that the profits from such a tournament can be shared with all ICC members on a percentage basis.

India and Pakistan have only met in major ICC tournaments so far. India will play against Pakistan in the opening match of the 2022 T20 World Cup. Remarkably, the two teams had started their campaigns against each other at last year’s World Cup.

Cricket Australia chief executive Hockley said his board had not discussed the proposal but was open to hosting Pakistan and India in a tri-series.

“I personally really like the Tri-Series concept. It’s worked well in the past,” Hockley told reporters in Rawalpindi.

“We would be very open to hosting… games,”

“There are really big communities from India and Pakistan living in Australia.

“It’s a competition that everyone wants to see in world cricket and if we can help support more opportunities we’d love to do that.”

WHEN JAY SHAH UNDERPLAYED RAJA’S PROPOSAL

In particular, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah downplayed Ramiz Raja’s proposal, previously saying that the interests of heads of cricket bodies around the world should be focused on expanding the game of cricket and that that was more important than “short-term ones commercial initiatives”.

“As the IPL window and ICC (global) events expand each year in the cycle, our primary responsibility is to protect bilateral cricket at home, with a focus on Test cricket,” Jay Shah had told Reuters in February.

“I’m also looking forward to seeing cricket at the Olympics as it will help the game grow. The expansion of the sport is a challenge facing our game and we must prioritize it over short-term commercial initiatives.”

Australia are currently in Pakistan on their first ever tour of the Asian nation in 24 years. The first test between the two sides ended in a draw at Rawalpindi as just 14 wickets fell on a lifeless field.

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