To every Indian, the most memorable match in the World Cup 2011 was not the finals but the India Pakistan Semifinal. This doesn't mean the finals wasn't something we wanted to win but the clash of eternal rivals India and Pakistan is a match like none other. The very long hiatus of bilateral matches between the countries is soon going to come to an end in the December 2012. BCCI has confirmed that Pakistan would go on a tour to India for three international matches and two Twenty20 matches to be held in December and January.
After almost a 6 year gap, there would again be another bilateral match for the first time after 2007. The short series is to be held between the Test and the ODI series of the England's tour of India. No other slots were available for the Indian team.
The PCB had tried to approach the BCCI to resume the bilateral series soon but there was no proper response from the Indian board. This led to speculations that the board was not going to resume the game this year.
Even after PCB's Chairman, Ashraf, had given a 'go' to play India on Thursday; there was no response from the BCCI. Today all the speculations have cleared up and the much awaited clash has been confirmed to occur in December.
The friendly gesture of N Srinivasan to invite Ashraf to the IPL matches in India had marked the revival of the ties between the countries. The Pakistan T20 champions Sialkot Stallions were also invited to participate in the T20 Champions League.
India and Pakistan have played against each other in the World Cup, Champions Trophy and Asia Cup but the bilateral games were last seen before the November 2008's terror attacks in Mumbai.
This was actually Pakistan's turn to host a bilateral series between the countries but the March 2009 attacks have posed security issues and India was not keen to play on neutral grounds. Mohali, New Delhi and Dharamsala would be the chosen venues for the games.
An official confirmation has not been received yet but Ashraf said that if this news was true, it would be a great sign that the ties between the two countries would revive soon. He also was excited about the two countries playing first rate cricket.
(AW- Anil)
