Former IPL chairperson Lalit Modi believes India and Pakistan are unlikely to restart bilateral cricket in the near future. In his view, the biggest obstacle is not travel logistics or neutral venues, but political interference that has seeped into decision-making around the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Modi shared his assessment while speaking on Michael Vaughan’s YouTube programme The Overlap Cricket. He argued that ongoing strain between the two boards continues to block any realistic prospect of a series, even if matches were considered at a third location.
Quick facts
- Lalit Modi says India-Pakistan bilateral cricket is unlikely to resume soon.
- He cites political interference affecting the Pakistan Cricket Board as the main barrier.
- Modi believes the challenge goes beyond logistics and is rooted in governance.
- He warns that the situation could worsen and may harm player prospects and safety.
- He references his IPL involvement with Pakistani players and their removal after the 26/11 attacks.
- The last India-Pakistan bilateral series was in 2012-13, featuring two T20Is and three ODIs.
Modi said there may have been “some traction” to revive cricketing ties, but that momentum was “made political” by pressures coming from outside the sport. He dismissed the idea that simply staging matches on neutral ground would solve the deeper governance issues he believes are at play.
In his comments, he pointed to what he described as increasing influence over the PCB, suggesting that cricket decisions are no longer being handled purely within the sport. That, he said, makes it harder to arrange games between the two nations in a straightforward manner.
Modi also raised the question of player safety, highlighting the tense backdrop that tends to surround India-Pakistan encounters. He suggested that the atmosphere does not just affect planning—it affects the people involved.
He further explained his personal connection to the issue, saying he had been the one to bring Pakistani players into the IPL, before having to move them after the 26/11 massacre in Bombay. He argued that if the PCB were genuinely independent and not influenced by wider forces, there would be a better chance of progress.
“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,” Modi said. He added that the tension at the political level is not going away and, in his assessment, could intensify further.
Last bilateral meeting
The most recent bilateral India-Pakistan series, according to Modi’s timeline, was in 2012-13. Pakistan toured India for a limited-overs set made up of two Twenty20 Internationals and three One-Day Internationals.
The T20I portion finished level at 1–1, while Pakistan won the ODI contest 2–1. Since then, the sides have not played bilateral matches, meeting only in ICC events and multi-team competitions like the Asia Cup.
