By IANS,
Islamabad : After cricket, ndia and Pakistan are now all set to resume bilateral hockey ties as well.
A Hockey India (HI) delegation will visit Pakistan next month to start negotiations for resuming the hockey ties that were snapped following the 2008 Mumbai attack by Pakistani terrorists.
But things have started to improve with the Hockey India League (HIL), where nine Pakistani players were bought by the five franchises in the players’ auction.
A top source in Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) said that negotiations are on for a series on home and away basis every year.
“Both sides (Pakistan and India) are on board and having negotiations to restart bilateral hockey series on home and away basis once a year. Now, we have reached a point where everything is looking positive,” a PHF official was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
The last hockey series was held in 2006 when both teams played three matches each in both India and Pakistan. Pakistan won four and India one match while one was draw.
Since 2006, no bilateral hockey tour was arranged due to the tense political relations between the two arch-rivals.
HI secretary general Narinder Batra said is everything goes well Pakistan will tour India in March for a five-match Test series.
“If everything goes as per plan Pakistan will tour India at the end of March next year for five Test matches. Then India will visit Pakistan in May for another five Tests,” Batra said.