Talk of India and Pakistan sharing a cricket field again has resurfaced, though not through the bilateral route that has stayed frozen for over a decade. Administrators are instead exploring a three or four team tournament as a way to restore some cricketing contact between the two neighbours. According to sources close to the sport's administration, the idea could be raised at an upcoming ICC meeting in Dubai, where the primary business is finalising the Future Tour Programme for 2027 to 2031 and the broader international scheduling calendar.
Why the Push for a Multi-Nation Tournament
Part of the thinking inside the ICC is straightforward economics. A tournament involving three or four boards can pull in far more revenue than a two team bilateral series, since a wider tournament widens the market, pushes up the value of broadcast rights and draws greater sponsor interest. That logic is behind the push to revive the multi team series format that thrived through the late 1990s and the early 2000s, when venues such as Sharjah and Singapore hosted these contests almost every year to large and enthusiastic crowds.
Bilateral Cricket Has Been Frozen Since 2013
India and Pakistan last played a bilateral series in 2013. Diplomatic tension between the two governments has only hardened since, and cricket boards on both sides shelved any plan to schedule fresh series outside multi nation events. Since then the teams have met only at ICC tournaments, the Champions Trophy or the Asia Cup, and only when the draw happens to pit them against each other in the group or knockout stage. As for a triangular or quadrangular series specifically involving both teams, the last one came in June 2008, when Bangladesh hosted the Kitply Cup with India, Pakistan and the host nation all competing. That means roughly seventeen years have passed without a multi team tournament bringing the two sides together.
PCB's Push, India's Firm Stand
The Pakistan Cricket Board has long pushed for more fixtures against India beyond what the ICC and the Asian Cricket Council schedule on their own, hoping to give fans on both sides more than just one match a year. The Indian government's position, however, has stayed consistent, no bilateral series with Pakistan will be sanctioned given the current state of diplomatic relations between the two countries. That is precisely why attention has shifted to a multi nation format, since it does not carry the obligation of a standalone series against Pakistan and does not conflict with the government's stated policy.
The Dubai Meeting and the Neutral Venue Clause
Representatives from all twelve Test playing nations and the eight associate members are expected to attend the Dubai meeting, where the full international calendar for the next four years is due to be locked in. Should an agreement on a multi nation series featuring India and Pakistan actually take shape, the tournament would likely be staged in the United Arab Emirates, England or Australia. That follows from an informal understanding already in place between the BCCI and the PCB, under which the two boards only face each other at neutral venues and never host one another on home soil, regardless of which tournament brings them together.
Tensions Deepened After the 2025 Asia Cup
The biggest hurdle throughout remains the stance of the Indian government and the BCCI, and that stance hardened further after the 2025 Asia Cup. Incidents during that tournament raised questions about sportsmanship, and in its aftermath the customary post match handshake between the two sides was dropped across men's, women's and age group competitions. The tournament itself ended in controversy, with PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi accused of holding on to the trophy after the winning Indian team declined to accept it from him, a moment that drew considerable criticism.
The Road Ahead
New Delhi's policy has consistently held that the country will not shy away from facing Pakistan in a multi nation tournament, provided the contest does not amount to a bilateral series. That is exactly why a triangular or quadrangular series is being viewed as a workable middle path, one that stays politically acceptable to both governments while keeping some cricketing connection alive and securing revenue for the ICC and broadcasters. The real question now is how New Delhi responds to this proposal and whether the BCCI is willing to give the ICC's initiative its approval.
