Credit: ICC
The Indian armed forces have avenged the tragic terrorist attack in Pahalgam with their ‘Operation Sindoor’ in Pakistan on the midnight of May 7. The Indian army attacked nine terrorist base camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir including Muridke and Bahawalpur killing over 70 terrorists with more than 60 terrorists getting injured. Apart from this, the Indian government announced the ‘mock drill’ where the citizens will be trained to survive in a war-like situation.
Now as both the neighbouring countries are on the verge of a war, it will also affect the relationship between India and Pakistan which hasn’t been very good since the start. This has also raised the question among cricket fans, whether both the nations will be seen playing against each other or not. Notably, India haven’t played bilateral cricket with Pakistan since 2012-13. However, both the teams are often seen taking on each other in multinational tournaments like the World Cup, Asia Cup and the Champions Trophy.
Along with the players, the fans also don’t leave any chance to support their team whenever India and Pakistan take on each other on the cricket field and it turns out to be a huge event. However, due to recently increased tensions between both countries, it is unlikely that India and Pakistan will be seen playing against each other again. In the following listicle, we will have a look at the three reasons why India will not play against Pakistan again in future.
1. Tensions at border
The tensions are currently increasing between India and Pakistan at the border and both the countries are on the verge of a war. After the terrorist attack in Pahalgam in April, the Indian armed forces retaliated by attacking nine terrorist camps in Pakistan on the night of May 7. Now, the citizens are also asked to prepare for the mock drill which includes sirens and the blackout that also occurred during the 1971 war. If the situation goes further, India and Pakistan might not be seen playing together again.
2. Different groups in multinational tournaments
After the Pahalgam attack, there were reports coming that the BCCI has asked the ICC to not put India and Pakistan in the same group. However, the Indian Cricket Board later denied the reports but according to the current scenario, this can be executed in the future ICC tournaments. Recently, India refused to travel to Pakistan for the 2025 Champions Trophy in February and March and played all their matches in Dubai. Meanwhile, Pakistan has also denied to come to India for the 2026 T20 World Cup and will all their matches in Sri Lanka. Apart from that, we might now also see India and Pakistan placed in the same group in the future ICC tournaments.
3. No Bilateral cricket
Notably, India and Pakistan aren’t engaged in bilateral series with each other from the last 12 years. The decision was made after the terrorist attack in Mumbai in 2008 that both nations will not play bilateral cricket with each other. However, four years later, Pakistan toured India for the limited overs series in December 2012 as both nations were looking to resume bilateral cricket but it turned out to be the last bilateral series between India and Pakistan. After that, the Indian government didn’t resume bilateral cricket with Pakistan and the tensions kept increasing between both nations Pathankot attack in 2016 and the Pulwama attack in 2019.
