After cricket and hockey, tennis is set to have an annual bilateral series between India and Pakistan.
The series will be a double-leg tournament on the Davis Cup format. Each leg will have best-of-three matches (two singles and one doubles), with Islamabad hosting the first.
"The programme is more or less final. The series will be played from November 6 to 12," All India Tennis Association secretary Anil Khanna told rediff.com on Wednesday.
The idea of a tennis series was discussed formally during the recent Davis Cup tie in Mumbai, where India beat Pakistan 3-2, Leander Paes turing out in the singles and beating Aqeel Khan in the deciding rubber.
The venues for the series are Islamabad, Lahore, Chandigarh and Gurgaon. Khanna finalised the series with Pakistan Tennis Federation chief Syed Dilawar Abbas in Seoul, South Korea, during the meetings of the Asian Tennis Federation and the International Tennis Federation.
The Indian team is scheduled to reach Islamabad on November 5.
Top Pakistan player Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, who won both the singles rubbers in the India-Pakistan Davis Cup tie in April, welcomed the announcement, saying the tournament will not only help further relations between the countries but also help the players compete at a good level.
"It definitely helps playing in India," he said.
"There are not many players in Pakistan, and playing in India means better competition. Some of the Indian players are my best friends and we travel together a lot on tour. We enjoy playing each other.
"It's good that we are having such events. We've seen with the cricket series also, sports can bring us together."
