CricketCan you imagine an ICC event without IND vs PAK ?: Aakash Chopra questions WTC cycle
India suffered a disheartening defeat against Australia in the World Championship final last Sunday. This was their second defeat in the WTC final, as two years ago the team lost the match to New Zealand. This time India lost the final by 209 runs, and now the wait for an ICC title continues for India. Previously, the team lost WTC under Virat Kohli’s captaincy, and this time under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy.
Aakash sides with Rohit’s opinion
After the defeat, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma also raised his objections to the final format at WTC, and he believes that the title clash should be a three-test series. Many former cricketers objected to Rohit’s opinion, Australian captain Pat Cummins was also categorically against it and said, “I think it is okay, no hesitation. I think ideally you would have a 50-match series, but the Olympics have come down to one race to win the gold medal. That’s the game. But former cricketer Aakash Chopra sided with Rohit and urged that there should be a three-match series for the final.
There should be IND vs Pak in WTC- Aakash
Not only this Aakash also pointed out another major shortcoming in the WTC as the ICC announced the fixtures for the third cycle of the tournament. He believes that there should be matches between India and Pakistan, as the WTC is an ICC tournament.
On his Youtube channel, the former opener stated that “you don’t play against all the teams, this is WTC an ICC event. It’s been four years now. Can you imagine an ICC event without India vs Pakistan? never. The match between both the teams usually happens in the beginning of the event as it gets the highest rating.
Aakash questions ICC about WTC
He further said, “Is the WTC not an ICC event? It’s the ICC Mace, and they host the final, so all matches in the cycle should be under the ICC’s realm. It will be six years, but there isn’t a single India-Pakistan series included. This is an ICC event, if not, then make it clear. You should call it bilateral cricket and accept that you have created this to make tests intriguing.”
Although the two teams met in ICC tournaments, their last match against each other was in the T20 World Cup in 2022, where India beat Pakistan by four wickets. They don’t play against each other in bilateral series due to political tensions between the nations.
