Hopes of a blockbuster between India and Pakistan in Australia have been dashed for next summer but it has not diminished the enthusiasm of local administrators for the concept based on the previous pulling power of matches between the two nations.
Pakistan will tour Australia in November for three ODI matches and three T20 encounters shortly before India arrive for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but Cricket Australia was unable to convince the neighbouring powers to participate in a match later this year.
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Tickets for a T20 World Cup clash between the rival nations at the MCG in 2022 sold out in five minutes, with the match drawing more than 90,000 fans to the Melbourne ground.
A clash in Adelaide in 2015 proved similarly appealing to fans, which is not a surprise given the strong expatriate community of both nations in Australia.
The demand for those matches has prompted suggestions Australia is an ideal venue for matches between Pakistan and India should a neutral venue be required in the future.
Cricket Australia head of operations and scheduling Peter Roach said on Tuesday the national body would love to be able to host a match between India and Pakistan and will continue to express interest to the boards of both countries.
“Going forward, we’re always interested in opportunities for matches and content that will engage our fans and it’s fair to say that every country in the world would love to see India and Pakistan compete in their country,” Roach said.
“We are on the record as saying that we’re one of those countries that have asked the question. There is no room in the schedules to do that at the moment but we’ll keep talking to them (about) any other opportunities that arise. But in this specific example, there are not going to be any changes to that schedule.”
Fox Cricket expert Harsha Bhogle said in December that while it would prove a massive hit with fans, he doubts the nations will ever agree to meet on neutral ground.
“If there was an India-Pakistan Test match at the MCG, you would sell it out within a day of the tickets going on sale, there is no doubt about that at all,” he said.
“They would all be sitting on their laptops, all the Indian fans and Pakistan fans, waiting for the tickets to go on sale and … boom, they would go for it right away.
“Everyone talks about separating sport and politics but certainly in our part of the world it is impossible to separate the two because it is such a deep-rooted emotion, both with what is happening between our countries and with sport itself, so I’m not sure.
“The only time it could happen is if they made the World Test Championship final but at the moment that is looking a distant dream.”
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Cricket Australia is seeking to make the most of the long-weekend in Melbourne in early November by scheduling an ODI clash against Pakistan on the eve of the Melbourne Cup. The ODI series continues in Adelaide on Friday, November 8 and concludes in Perth on Sunday, November 10.
The T-20 series against Pakistan starts at the Gabba on November 14, with matches at the SCG on November 16 and also in Hobart on November 18, which is just four days before the start of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against India in Perth.
Roach said Cricket Australia was mindful of the tight schedule but expects national selectors will balance the loads of those required for representative duties.
“I’m not a selector and I don’t propose to be … but I think they’ll be balancing the individual loads of the players and the upcoming matches to make sure that they’re best prepared to get through what again, will be a pretty big summer of cricket,” he said.