KEY TAKEAWAYS:
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ICC is reportedly considering a multi-nation tournament featuring India and Pakistan to boost cricket’s commercial value globally.
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The proposal could be discussed at an upcoming ICC meeting scheduled for September 22-23 in Dubai, with Full Members present.
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UAE, England and Australia are among potential neutral venues as bilateral India-Pakistan cricket remains politically impossible.
ICC multi-nation tournament for India and Pakistan: How tri-series proposal at neutral venues could bypass bilateral ban
The prospect of India and Pakistan sharing a cricket field outside of ICC and ACC events is edging closer to becoming a reality, if reports circulating ahead of a key governance meeting are anything to go by.
According to Tapmad, the game’s global body is reportedly considering a multi-team tournament structure that could bring the two arch-rivals together without the political complications that come with a bilateral series.
It has been reported that representatives from all 12 Full Member nations and eight associate countries are due to gather in Dubai on September 22 and 23 for a meeting focused on how international cricket’s schedule should look going forward.
Among the topics likely on the agenda is whether bringing multiple teams together in a single event generates more money for the sport than two-team bilateral series. It is a question that almost inevitably leads back to India and Pakistan sharing a tournament, given the sheer commercial weight that fixture carries.
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India vs Pakistan is not a new idea, but one gaining fresh momentum
Pakistan have been pushing for some version of a tri-series or four-nation event featuring India for quite some time, and the idea has found new legs as the ICC meeting approaches.
What’s changed is the wider appetite for a formal conversation about it at the highest administrative level, with enough Full Members apparently open to the discussion for it to appear on the agenda at all.
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The case for it is fairly straightforward from a commercial standpoint. A tournament built around India and Pakistan, padded out with one or two other strong sides, would attract extraordinary global interest.
Broadcasters, sponsors and streaming platforms that would ordinarily fight over India-Pakistan matches in an ICC event would be dealing with another marquee product, and that translates to serious revenue for cricket’s ecosystem.
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Why is a bilateral series between India and Pakistan still off the table?
A bilateral series between India and Pakistan remains as politically complicated as ever, with ongoing tensions between the two governments making it essentially impossible to arrange.
Their matches have been confined to ICC World Cups and ACC events for years, with no clear path to bilateral cricket in the near future. The multi-nation format, though, offers a potential workaround, and Indian media reports suggest the government is more receptive to India-Pakistan matches when they sit within a wider tournament involving other nations, rather than as a standalone bilateral commitment.
The UAE has hosted neutral-venue cricket for Pakistan for years and has the infrastructure to handle a major event. England and Australia are also being floated as possible locations, with all three options having the benefit of keeping the matches on neutral ground; something that would make the entire project considerably easier to organise diplomatically and logistically.
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Cricket’s commercial brain is working overtime, for good reason
The fact that this idea is being discussed seriously at ICC level tells you something about how much money is sitting on the table with an India-Pakistan fixture that the cricket world hasn’t been able to fully unlock.
Bilateral cricket between the two sides is unlikely to happen anytime soon regardless of what any board says, so a multi-team tournament is the most practical bridge available.
Whether this actually gets off the ground depends on far more than cricket administrators agreeing in a Dubai meeting room. The Indian government’s position will be the decisive factor, and while reports suggest slightly more openness to tournament-format matches, that’s a long way from a green light.
Still, the fact that Full Members are willing to sit down and formally explore the idea is progress of a kind cricket hasn’t seen in years. If the commercial model is convincing enough, it might just give both governments the cover they need to say yes.
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