Ravichandran Ashwin has made a sudden retirement from international cricket and that made the individual 38 years old be the first person to achieve something like that. Ashwin forms part of 14 Indian players that surpassed the 100 Test mark for India; and one of 78 players in the history of the game that have done so. However, Ashwin would go in the records as the first-ever player in 147 years in the field of Test cricket with 100 or over Test caps and yet had played no single match against Pakistan. The first to have this accolade is Ashwin, but very soon, he may join two of his teammates.
Frosty relations mean that neither country will ever play bilateral Test matches against each other and the last Test between India and Pakistan was played in December 2007. Ashwin, who had his career kick-off after this test, becomes the first player to retire with more than 100 Test caps but having never played Pakistan.
Ashwin could be joined by the two fellow players from the Indian side, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara, on this list. Kohli and Pujara come under the category of having played more than 100 Test matches each without having faced Pakistan.
With the turn of events concerning the Champions Trophy, both countries may not tour each other for any form of cricket until at least 2027, a time during which both Kohli and Pujara would have probably ended their careers.
The only plausible way for either Kohli or Pujara to play against Pakistan, then, would be in the faint chance of a World Test Championship (WTC) final played at 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 an India-Pakistan test encounter is thus improbable before 2027.
India and Pakistan will meet next in the Champions Trophy 2025 at a neutral venue, although initially, Pakistan itself is the host for the tournament.
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