India to host Pakistan's domestic cricket champions

The domestic first-class champions from India and Pakistan will clash in a four-day cricket match later this month, the Indian board confirmed today.

The match between Uttar Pradesh, India's Ranji Trophy winners and Sialkot, Pakistan's Quaid-e-Azam Trophy champions, will be held in Dharamsala from September 27 to 30, Niranjan Shah, the secretary of the Indian board (BCCI) told Cricinfo.

However, until yesterday the Pakistan board hadn't been informed of the new date. "The schedule has been negotiated by our chairman with the BCCI," Saleem Altaf, Director operations, PCB, told Cricinfo. "The match has already been postponed by a year and the PCB is very keen to go ahead with the match whatever the date. This is a good idea to have matches between the two domestic champions and we would like for it to go ahead."

The game was initially supposed to have been played between September 19 and 22. But it's been learnt that the Indian board were keen to postpone it since three players from Uttar Pradesh (Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina and Rudra Pratap Singh) would be representing India in the DLF Cup at Malaysia at that point.

Sialkot too might have missed some of their key players, including the likes of Mohammad Asif, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Shoaib Malik had the game began on September 19, as the Pakistan board were keen that they get a break after the tour of England to be ready for the Champions Trophy in October.

It will be a revival of sorts for Indo-Pak first-class rivalry. The Super Wills Cup was held in 1989 when United Bank Limited (UBL) took on Delhi, the Ranji Trophy champions that year. The next edition was played between Wills XI from India and Habib Bank at the Feroz Shah Kotla at Delhi.

The game between UBL and Delhi is significant because it heralded the arrival of one of the most destructive bowlers of all time, Waqar Younis. Imran Khan, the legendary Pakistan captain, was down with viral fever and watching the game on television when he spotted a young fast bowler troubling the Delhi batsmen. Imran immediately drove down to the venue, and made sure the youngster was picked up for the forthcoming Sharjah tour. Eight days later, the 17-year old opened the Pakistan bowling with Wasim Akram at Sharjah against West Indies.