New Delhi, April 16 Former IPL chairman Lalit Modi believes that the chances of India and Pakistan playing a bilateral series will not be possible anytime in the future because of the political influence on the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and opined that there would have been ‘some traction’ if the board hadn’t ‘pulled levers and made it political’.
Speaking to former England captain Michael Vaughan, Modi dismissed the idea that even a neutral venue could revive cricketing ties between the two nations and opined that the core issue lies in what he described as the increasing political influence over the PCB.
Modi reiterated that the situation is unlikely to improve anytime soon, effectively ruling out the possibility of a bilateral series in the near future. "I fear that it may not be possible in the near future, primarily because of the politicisation by the Pakistan Cricket Board in Pakistan and unfortunately, that's the way it is," he said on the Stick to Cricket podcast.
He argued that decisions are no longer being made independently within cricketing circles, complicating efforts to organise matches between the two sides. He also expressed concerns about player safety given the charged atmosphere surrounding India-Pakistan encounters.
"I was the one that brought Pakistani players into the IPL and then I had to move them after the 26/11 massacre in Bombay. The problem is if the Pakistan Cricket Board was independent and ran independently, if it wasn't politically influenced, we would have some traction. But today the Pakistan Cricket Board is so politicised by the powers that be and they are pulling the levers and making it political. We have tension at that level, political level and that is not going away. It's only going to get worse. So I fear for the players,” he said.
India and Pakistan ceased holding regular bilateral cricket series after the 2012-13 season. After Pakistan's tour of India in January 2013, bilateral matches stopped due to rising political tensions and security issues. Since then, the two countries have limited their contests to multi-nation tournaments like the ICC World Cup and the Asia Cup.
In addition to India-Pakistan relations, Modi also weighed in on Bangladesh’s decision to skip participation in the 2026 T20 World Cup due to security concerns related to travelling to India. He criticised the move, suggesting it was unwarranted.
"I don't see an immediate solution right now, and you saw Bangladesh trying to get into it. They shouldn't have," he said.
--IANS
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