“It has nothing to do with BCCI” - Ravi Shastri opens up on Test cricket resumption between India and Pakistan

Former Team India head coach and commentator Ravi Shastri has opened up on the possibilities of the resumption of India and Pakistan in the longest format of the game, stating that it will completely depend on the political relations.

With the new World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle starting between India and England, there have been a lot of talks of India and Pakistan also locking horns in the ICC WTC event, which didn’t take place in the past three editions.

“It will all depend on the political relations. It has nothing to do with BCCI, nothing to do with ICC. It is no one else’s business. It will depend on the state of politics between the two countries. That will determine whether India will play Pakistan, nothing else,” Ravi Shastri said in response to Michael Atherton’s inquiry on SkySports.

Notably, due to the cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan, the Indian Premier League 2025 season and Pakistan Super League 2025 season were suspended in the mid-way and both tournaments commenced a few days later.

Despite the relations not being on good terms, both India and Pakistan lock horns in the ICC and ACC events on a regular basis. However, India and Pakistan last played a bilateral Test series in 2007-08, when Pakistan toured India. 

Team India last faced Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai. Though Pakistan was the hosting nation, India wanted all its games to take place in Dubai in the mega event in February 2025.

The Rohit Sharma-led Indian side went on to defeat the arch-rivals by six wickets in a comprehensive manner. Eventually, India went on to defeat New Zealand in the grand finale to lift the silverware in Dubai.

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