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India will host Pakistan in two friendlies as a part of their Asian Games preparations, the AIFF announced on Wednesday. Both sides will field their U-23 sides with three senior players each and the matches will take place at the Bangalore Football Stadium, Bangalore on August 17 and August 20.
After hosting India’s senior team in a three-match series back in 2005, for many years Pakistan were hoping to play a similar series on Indian soil. One such series was supposed to take place in England back in 2011 but got cancelled due to lack of sponsorship.
Then in 2013, a triangular series involving India, Pakistan and Bangladesh was planned in England but got cancelled due to similar reasons.
The two showdowns in August will give both India and Pakistan much-needed match practice ahead of the Asian Games and at the same time strengthen ties between the two arch-rivals.
The senior teams of the two countries met at the SAFF Championship in Nepal last year with India winning 1-0 thanks to an own goal from Pakistan defender Samar Ishaq
After the two matches against Pakistan, the India squad will continue their Asian Games preparations with a foreign exposure trip.
