The International Cricket Council (ICC) is exploring the possibility of staging a lucrative tri-series or four-team tournament featuring Pakistan and India, according to sources, potentially providing a new avenue for the arch-rivals to face each other.
The proposal is expected to receive attention during the ICC’s Future Tours Programme (FTP) seminar, scheduled to be held in Dubai on September 22 and 23. Representatives from all 12 Test-playing nations and eight associate members are expected to participate.
The discussions could focus on whether multi-nation series can deliver greater commercial returns than traditional bilateral ODI and T20I contests. Adding more teams to a tournament could create a stronger broadcasting and sponsorship package while offering greater commercial value to organisers.
Under the potential format, Pakistan and India could be joined by one or two other teams, creating a compact multi-nation competition featuring some of the biggest cricketing markets.
A Pakistan-India match remains among the most commercially valuable fixtures in international cricket, attracting enormous television audiences and significant sponsorship interest. However, political tensions have prevented the two countries from playing a bilateral series for more than a decade.
The last bilateral series between Pakistan and India took place in 2013. Since then, the teams have faced each other only in tournaments organised by the ICC and Asian Cricket Council (ACC).
Any future cricketing engagement between the two sides would still require approval from their respective governments. However, reports from Indian media have suggested that the Indian government does not have the same objection to Pakistan-India matches in multi-nation tournaments, potentially making such events more feasible than a bilateral series.
If the proposal gains momentum, neutral venues including the United Arab Emirates, England and Australia could be considered to host the tournament.
A Pakistan-India multi-nation series would not only revive one of cricket’s biggest rivalries on a more regular basis but could also offer the ICC and broadcasters a highly attractive commercial product.
