New Delhi: Amid the chaos caused by political issues between India and Pakistan, the two cricketing nations are set to go head to head in Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh ahead of the much-awaited clash in Champions Trophy in England.
The two teams will lock horns in the Emerging Cup tournament, an event designed for the Under-23 players, but four teams — India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka — can field four national players in total without an age cap. Other four teams — Afghanistan, UAE, Hong Kong, Nepal — are eligible to play their national sides.
The tournament will be played under the banner of Asian Cricket Committee and is scheduled to take place between March 15 to 26.
Confirming the news, MV Sridhar was quoted saying by The Indian Express, “Yes, India would be sending a team to the tournament. It’s an ACC tournament and so we would go there. This is not a bilateral India-Pakistan series, and so this is different.”
Considering the fact that the Indian national team will be busy with their Test series against Australia till March 25, it will be difficult for BCCI to select senior players for the Emerging Cup. But, former captain MS Dhoni, who will not be back in action on the International stage until the Champions Trophy, might be sanctioned to play in the tournamnet along with a few other promising Indian players.
As far as the recent cricketing history between the two nations is concerned, the two teams last met in international tournament in the World T20 2016 where India beat Pakistan in Kolkata. They have not faced each other in a bilateral series since 2013.
Source: Zee News