File image of R Ashwin.© AFP
Ravichandran Ashwin‘s sudden retirement from international cricket has allowed the 38-year-old to now become the first person to achieve a rather unique thing. Ashwin is among 14 Indian players to have made more than 100 Test appearances for India, and one of 78 players in the history of the game to do so. However, Ashwin will go down as the first-ever player in the 147 years since Test cricket began with 100 or more Test caps who has never played a single match against Pakistan. While Ashwin is the first in the list, he could soon have two of his teammates join him.
India’s frosty relations with Pakistan within and outside the world of cricket has seen the two nations not play a single Test match against each other since December 2007. With Ashwin’s career beginning after that, he became the first-ever player to retire with more than 100 Test caps, but having never played Pakistan.
Ashwin could soon be joined on the list by Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara in the list. Kohli and Pujara have both never faced Pakistan, despite registering more than 100 Test matches each.
Given the way things have turned out regarding the Champions Trophy, neither country will tour each other in any form of cricket till at least 2027, by which time, both Kohli and Pujara may have called time on their own careers.
The only possibility of Kohli or Pujara playing against Pakistan would be a potential World Test Championship (WTC) final, which would take place in a neutral venue. With Pakistan out of the race in the 2023-25 cycle, such a scenario could only take place from the next cycle onwards.
This means that any India-Pakistan Test encounter is highly unlikely until at least 2027.
India and Pakistan will next square off in the Champions Trophy 2025 at a neutral venue, despite Pakistan being the tournament’s original hosts.
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