India, Pakistan to play ODI series in December?
India and Pakistan are likely to play three One-Day Internationals in December as the cricket boards of the two countries have agreed in principal to resume the cricketing ties. It is expected to be played during the Christmas break in India.
Mohali, New Delhi and Dharamshala are the likely venues for the series. The BCCI, however, still needs the approval of the Government of India to go ahead with the series. The two countries have not played a bilateral cricket series since the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008.
India were scheduled to tour Pakistan in January 2009 but most of the players were reluctant to visit. As a goodwill gesture Sri Lanka agreed to tour Pakistan. But terrorist attack on their players in Lahore on March 3, 2009 saw an end to international cricket in Pakistan.
Since then no international team has toured Pakistan. Even during the ICC World Cup 2011, the matches, initially scheduled in Pakistan, were given to other cities of the Indian sub-continent.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has been trying for long to resume cricketing ties with India and also bring back international cricket to Pakistan. Last week, PCB chief Zaka Ashraf had given three proposals to India -that India can tour Pakistan or play them at a neutral venue or allow PCB to host their home series in India.