"Cricket fans are deprived" - Aamer Sohail wants more India-Pakistan matches

Former Pakistan skipper Aamer Sohail has lamented the lack of India-Pakistan contests, sympathizing with fans for not having the opportunity to relish the contest more often.

India and Pakistan last played a bilateral series in 2012 when the latter toured the former. Since then, the two countries have met each other only in global or ICC tournaments.

Speaking to Sportstar, Sohail agreed with the ICC's narrative of keeping political conflicts away from the sport. The 55-year old added that fans worldwide deserve to see more of India-Pakistan games.

"The ICC keeps on emphasising that politics should not be involved as far as cricket is concerned and I agree with that. The contest between India and Pakistan always brings that anticipation all around the world. Cricket fans are deprived of that."

Pakistan scored a landmark victory over India in the T20 World Cup 2021, beating them for the first time in World Cups. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan helped annihilate India by ten wickets as they chased 152 for the win.

"Rohit Sharma is a good choice as a captain" - Aamer Sohail

Aamer Sohail (Credits: Web)

The southpaw claimed Rohit Sharma's experience as Mumbai Indians' captain should help India. He also wants India's selection to be based only on domestic performances.

Sohail, one of Pakistan's all-time greatest openers, also feels India's future looks bright despite Virat Kohli's resignation as captain.

"Rohit Sharma is a good choice as a captain. His batting doesn't seem to get affected by captaincy. Of course, his experience as the Mumbai Indians skipper at the IPL (Indian Premier League) would help. IPL helps the new players get prepared and make them comfortable with the camera.But I believe the IPL performances should not be the criterion for selection to the Test team; it should be based only on First-Class cricket."

Sharma will return to India's line-up for the upcoming white-ball series at home against the West Indies. The explosive opener missed the tour of South Africa due to a hamstring injury.