ISLAMABAD: Pakistan cricket great Wasim Akram says politics should not affect his country's cricketing ties with India.

Anurag Thakur, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, appeared to cast doubt on any bilateral series between India and Pakistan until an improvement in the political relationship between the two Asian rivals.

But Akram says "sports should not be mixed with politics and the beauty of a Pakistan-India series can't be matched with any other series."

Pakistan has not played a bilateral test series against India since 2007 but the two countries have planned a three-test series in the United Arab Emirates in December.