Former England captain Michael Vaughan does not see any light at the end of the tunnel, and he had no qualms in predicting that the cricketing relations between India and Pakistan are going to get "worse" moving ahead. Vaughan's comments come amidst the ongoing stand-off between the two countries and cricket boards, regarding the upcoming Champions Trophy, which is scheduled to be played in Pakistan in 2025.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has already made its stance known to the International Cricket Council (ICC), stating that India won't tour Pakistan, due to security concerns. The Indian cricket board took this call, after taking the advice of Government of India. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is now consulting with its government regarding the course of action going ahead.
As per several reports, Pakistan are not ready to accept the hybrid model, and want to conduct the entire tournament in Pakistan. There are some reports which also state that if Pakistan don't accept the hybrid model, then the entire tournament can go ahead in South Africa. Taking note of these ongoing developments, Vaughan predicted a bleak scenario, when it comes to India-Pakistan cricket.
"India have obviously announced that they would not be playing in Pakistan, looks like they're going to play in Dubai. I do think by India not going to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy, I think that relationship now could be an off-image, it has not been great for a long time and I think it is going to get worse. Potentially we might not see India play Pakistan for a long long time," Vaughan said on Club Prairie Fire Podcast.
'Would love to see India-Pakistan Test cricket'
{{/usCountry}}"India have obviously announced that they would not be playing in Pakistan, looks like they're going to play in Dubai. I do think by India not going to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy, I think that relationship now could be an off-image, it has not been great for a long time and I think it is going to get worse. Potentially we might not see India play Pakistan for a long long time," Vaughan said on Club Prairie Fire Podcast.
'Would love to see India-Pakistan Test cricket'
{{/usCountry}}Speaking on the same matter, Michael Vaughan said that there are several supporters of India and Pakistan cricket, around the world, and hence it would be great to see these two nations playing Test cricket against each other once again.
"It is a one thing I would really love to see in Test match cricket. India vs Pakistan, if you can't play it on your own backyard, play it here in Australia, we'll host it in the UK," said Vaughan.
"There are so many supporters in the world that idolises India and Pakistan, that series would be a huge success, wherever you play. Its sad that India would not be going to Pakistan, it is going to affect the game," he added.
India and Pakistan had last played against each other in the T20 World Cup this year. The match was played in New York. The two teams had last played bilateral cricket in 2012.
India had last toured Pakistan in 2008 for the Asia Cup.
Coming back to the Champions Trophy, the eight-team tournament is slated to be played in Pakistan from February 19-March 9. As of now, the competition is slated to be played in Lahore, Rawalpindi and Karachi.
The top eight teams in the world -- India, Australia, England, Pakistan, South Africa, New Zealand, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, are slated to participate in the tournament.