Imagine a world without India-Pakistan Test cricket

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Imagine an international cricket scene with no Ashes series between England and Australia because the two teams were kept apart for political reasons.

The two teams meet fortuitously if drawn together in international tournaments, and individual players encounter each other in domestic cricket or commercial ventures in third countries. But without the Ashes Tests, they never compete before their supporters at the highest level of cricket. They cannot measure themselves against their countries’ past giants.

This is what has happened to India and Pakistan. Their Test encounters have the same resonance as the Ashes: as with England and Australia, their players are most valued for their performances against each other. These include India’s first Test triple century by Virender Sehwag in 2004: Javed Miandad would probably have posted one in 1983, but for a still-controversial declaration. In bowling, Anil Kumble followed Jim Laker by taking all ten Pakistani wickets in an innings in 1999, while Imran Khan produced one of the greatest-ever spells by a fast bowler in taking eight for 60 in Karachi in 1982. Even the long spate of draws between India and Pakistan in the first decade have a certain epic quality in their dullness.
dawn.com