NDTV is reporting that India and Pakistan will indeed be playing a short bilateral cricket series in Sri Lanka this month. After months of discussions, the PCB has just confirmed the news, having received the ‘go ahead’ from the Indian Government.
The short series will be played between December 24 and January 5 and was earlier expected to feature three ODIs and two T20s. However, the channel is now reporting that only three limited overs matches look likely.
Also, both teams have international commitments early in January that cannot be rescheduled at this late time. India have to travel to Australia for a limited-overs tour that starts on the 12th with the first ODI while Pakistan go to New Zealand for a tour that starts with the first fixture on the 15th.
Despite playing in Sri Lanka, the series will be Pakistan’s ‘home series’. The two boards signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2014 and it was to be the PCB’s turn to host India and since teams do not travel to Pakistan due to security reasons, they had proposed playing in UAE, their ‘adopted home’. However, the BCCI refused that as well and finally Sri Lanka was chosen as the middle ground.
Now, while we wait for the big series to finally get underway, here’s for a trip down memory lane - 9 Classic India-Pakistan Cricket Showdowns.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)