Shoaib Akhtar reckons there should be an Indo-Pak series to raise funds for COVID-19

Shoaib Akhtar has come forward and proposed a three-match bilateral ODI series between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in order to raise funds to fight the deadly COVID-19 that has made a huge impact all over the world. Meanwhile, India and Pakistan have never played a bilateral series since the 2012/13 season. The Men In Blue had hosted the arch-rivals where the two-match T20I series ended in a stalemate while the visitors emerged victorious 2-1 in the three ODIs that followed. 

Since then, the two sides have only been locking horns in the multi-nation events like the Asia Cup and the ICC tournaments.

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'Both teams will be winners': Shoaib Akhtar

“In this time of crisis, I want to propose a three-match series in which for the first time, the people of neither country would be upset at the outcome of the games. If Virat (Kohli) scores a hundred, we will be happy, if Babar Azam scores a hundred, you will be happy”, said Shoaib Akhtar.

“Both teams will be winners irrespective of whatever happens on the field. You are bound to get massive viewership for the games. For the first time, both countries will play for each other. And whatever funds are generated through this can be donated equally to the government of India and Pakistan to fight this pandemic,” he added.

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The impact of COVID-19 on sporting events

All the major sporting events have either been postponed or cancelled due to the global pandemic. The big global events like the UEFA Euro Cup 2020 and the Tokyo Olympic Games have been postponed to the summer of 2021 while the showpiece event of world tennis i.e. the Wimbledon 2020 has been cancelled for the first time since World War II. 

Coming back to cricket, the semi-final and final matches of the ongoing edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) have been postponed as well. The bilateral ODI series between India and South Africa have been rescheduled at a later date whereas, the IPL 2020 that was supposed to get underway on March 29 has tentatively been postponed to April 15.

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(With PTI Inputs)