No Pak-India match until border issues normalise: Indian sports minister

Indian Sports Minister Anurag Thakur has said that a series between Pakistan and India will not be possible until border issues between the two neighbouring nations are resolved.

Cricketing relations between India and Pakistan have been suspended for years due to diplomatic tensions between the countries, and both teams only play each other in ICC and Asia Cup matches on international cricket grounds.

In an interview with the Indian media, Thakur — who was also the former chief of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) — said "the BCCI had long ago decided that bilateral matches with Pakistan will not happen until border relations are normalised."

"I understand that this is the sentiment of every ordinary citizen of the country," he said.

It should be noted that in a recent Asia Cup match, Pakistan lost the second match against India by 228 runs. Later, the Green Shirts faced a defeat against Sri Lanka in the same tournament, which led to the national team's exit with its dreams to reach the finals shattered during a decisive and thrilling last over on Thursday.

Meanwhile, owing to their spectacular form in One Day Internationals (ODIs), India has jumped ahead of Pakistan in the ICC ODI team rankings. Pakistan, who were previously ranked number one, have slipped to number three in the rankings while the Blues have jumped to number two.

India is ranked two with 116 ratings and 4,516 points while Pakistan is at third with 115 ratings and 3,102 points.

On the other hand, the final match of the Asia Cup 2023 will now be played between India and Sri Lanka on September 17 in Colombo.