English venues scramble to host India v Pakistan

Lord’s, Oval and Edgbaston may step in for historic series Rivals have not faced each other in a Test since 2007

English grounds including Lord’s, the Oval and Edgbaston are queuing up to host games in a potential Test series between India and Pakistan.

Last week, India captain Rohit Sharma said it would be “awesome” to play Pakistan in a Test series overseas. England would be an obvious leading contender as a neutral host if bilateral cricket ties between India and Pakistan resumed.

India last played a Test against Pakistan in 2007. The Indian government does not sanction bilateral fixtures against Pakistan so the two countries meet only in global tournaments such as the World Cup and T20 World Cup, and the Asia Cup.

With India v Pakistan one-day international and T20 matches attracting global broadcasting audiences of several hundred million, a Test between the nations would also be a significant boost for the five-day game around the world.

Lord’s would be keen to stage an India v Pakistan Test and representatives from Surrey and Warwickshire said they would also be eager to host a match. “We would definitely be open to exploring that,” Steve Elworthy, the Surrey chief executive, said.

Stuart Cain, the chief executive of Warwickshire, believes such a fixture would be a boon for cricket at Edgbaston. “We’d be hugely supportive of the proposal,” he said. “It would be fantastic for the region and the many Pakistan and India fans who live in the West Midlands.”

Around 4,000 tickets sold in the first 24 hours for India’s match against Pakistan in the World Championship of Legends in July, indicating the demand to see the two countries compete in any form.

If India-pakistan matches were staged in England, it would help ensure that there were more major games to share between venues in the country. In 2027, there are no men’s Ashes Tests staged north of Nottingham. Edgbaston is not scheduled to host any Test in the summer of 2030.

England has hosted a small number of neutral men’s Tests in recent years, which have generally attracted good crowds.

Next year, Lord’s will host the World Test Championship final, which is highly unlikely to feature England and so will be a neutral fixture. The last neutral Test it hosted was Pakistan v Australia in 2010. The Utilita Bowl and the Kia Oval hosted the 2021 and 2023 World Test Championship finals, neither of which involved England. Last year’s World Test Championship final, pitting India against Australia, was close to a sell-out.

“It’ll be a good contest, especially if you play overseas conditions,” Rohit told the Club Prairie Fire podcast last week about the prospect of playing Tests against Pakistan at a neutral venue. “They have got a superb bowling line-up.

“We want to be in a contest. We play them in ICC trophies, so it doesn’t really matter. It’s just pure cricket that I’m looking at.”