Cicket Australia offers to host India vs Pakistan test match
T20 fans of India and Pakistan could be in for a treat, with Cricket Australia offering to host a test match between the two nations. Here’s what’s been proposed.
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Cricket Australia has offered to host a test match between India and Pakistan after the T20 clash between the two teams was a sellout success.
The crowd reaction to the game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground was the most enthusiastic recorded across any sporting code in the last decade.
A Cricket Australia spokesman said: “It would be up to the two countries to agree, but if there was to be a Test between India and Pakistan on neutral territory, we would of course be very interested in the opportunity to host it in Australia.
“The supporters of the two teams here for the World Cup have been extraordinary and the vast majority of those fans live in Australia.”
Cricket Australia is understood to have made the offer to both sides after the success of the T20 match.
But despite the desire of fans to see more games between the two in Australia, The Daily Telegraph can reveal the idea was rejected by India’s cricket authorities.
Pakistan, which has to play test matches in the United Arab Emirates after a terror attack on the touring Sri Lankan cricket team, was more receptive than India.
Crowd research company 2 Circles measured the crowd response at the T20 game between the two nations in Australia and came back with the most enthusiasm for a game ever.
“It was the highest response we have ever measured in more than 1000 games across any code in 10 years,” 2 Circles chief executive Gareth Balch said.
“What was remarkable was that the Pakistan fans enjoyed it almost as much as the Indian fans even though they lost. That is the result of a high jeopardy game where fans believe they are watching greatness.”
Mr Balch said the fans’ rating of 9.7 out of 10, compared with 8.8 for the FA Cup Final, showed a real appetite for more games to be played between the two sides in Australia.
“There is a big Indian and Pakistani diaspora right across the region that wants to see more games,” he said. “The idea of more India v Pakistan games in Australia would be well received by fans.”
A spokesman for the Indian team currently in Australia refused to discuss the option and instead referred the decision to cricket authorities back in India.
The Pakistan team spokesman in Australia, Ibrahim Badees, said the idea was “not on radar even”.
However Australian based fans from both sides were in no doubt.
Sydney based Indian Link chief executive Pawan Luthra said: “It is a brilliant idea. I was at the game and to see fans from both countries enjoying themselves together was amazing. You could feel the electricity surging through the crowd with every ball.
“There is enough of a community from both India and Pakistan to have games well supported here, it would be wonderful for cricket on a global basis.”
Pakistan Australia Friendship Association president Ali Khurram agreed. “The rivalry is always there. It would be great to see a test played here with both teams feeling like they are in front of a home crowd.”
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