File picture of R Ashwin.© AFP
Ravichandran Ashwin’s sudden retirement from worldwide cricket has allowed the 38-year-old to now turn out to be the primary individual to attain a quite distinctive factor. Ashwin is amongst 14 Indian gamers to have made greater than 100 Check appearances for India, and considered one of 78 gamers within the historical past of the sport to take action. Nonetheless, Ashwin will go down because the first-ever participant within the 147 years since Check cricket started with 100 or extra Check caps who has by no means performed a single match in opposition to Pakistan. Whereas Ashwin is the primary within the record, he may quickly have two of his teammates be part of him.
India’s frosty relations with Pakistan inside and out of doors the world of cricket has seen the 2 nations not play a single Check match in opposition to one another since December 2007. With Ashwin’s profession starting after that, he grew to become the first-ever participant to retire with greater than 100 Check caps, however having by no means performed Pakistan.
Ashwin may quickly be joined on the record by Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara within the record. Kohli and Pujara have each by no means confronted Pakistan, regardless of registering greater than 100 Check matches every.
Given the way in which issues have turned out relating to the Champions Trophy, neither nation will tour one another in any type of cricket until a minimum of 2027, by which period, each Kohli and Pujara might have known as time on their very own careers.
The one risk of Kohli or Pujara taking part in in opposition to Pakistan could be a possible World Check Championship (WTC) ultimate, which might happen in a impartial venue. With Pakistan out of the race within the 2023-25 cycle, such a situation may solely happen from the following cycle onwards.
Because of this any India-Pakistan Check encounter is extremely unlikely till a minimum of 2027.
India and Pakistan will subsequent sq. off within the Champions Trophy 2025 at a impartial venue, regardless of Pakistan being the event’s authentic hosts.
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