India to Face Pakistan on English Soil as Hockey Pro League Schedule Unveiled

Another India-Pakistan clash is on the cards, as England is set to host the iconic rivalry for the Hockey Pro League. The showpiece match will be played in England in June next year, promising all the fans a thrilling experience. The International Hockey Federation (FIH) announced the schedule for all matches, including the key clash of India-Pakistan on Monday.

As per the details of the schedule, the opening round of the tournament will start from December 9 in Argentina. This will consist of a nine-team tournament, making the competition quite high and thrilling to watch. The Pakistan Hockey Team will compete against Netherlands and Argentina in the first round of the tournament.

After completing the first round, the national team will then move to Australia. During this stage, the green shirts will take on Australia and Germany between February 10 and 15. Considering the quality of these teams, Pakistan has to work hard to win those games. The host nation, Australia, would definitely be a challenge here, as they would enjoy the home support to win all the round two games.

The third round of the Hockey Pro League is scheduled to run from June 13 to June 21. This will be hosted by Belgium, hence the green shirts would be traveling there to take on the home side and Spain as well.

The tournament will then move to England, where the final round will be played. This will become interesting for the Pakistan team, as they will take on India there in the third round. Just like several cricket contests, this game will also attract tons of eyeballs. Fans from both countries would be cheering for their team, as Hockey is greatly played and loved in both nations.

Considering the current situation between the two countries, this match will become important. The relations between the two countries are at an all-time low, so passion will run high during the matches. The Pakistan team will need to play well across all the rounds to make a mark in the tournament. Winning matches before the all-important India face-off would be crucial for them, as it would give them plenty of confidence to do well against the archrivals.

However, the Pakistan team also needs to evolve from some domestic problems before heading to the tournament. The recent 400-rupeee allowance controversy has made headlines everywhere, so Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) will need to resolve such issues quickly to instill some confidence in the players.