The Afro-Asia Cup is set to return to the cricketing calendar after a long break. Cricket fans from India and Pakistan may get to see Virat Kohli and Babar Azam playing for the same team.
The Africa Cricket Association (ACA) and the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) started the Afro-Asia Cup in 2005. Big names in cricket from Africa and Asia play against each other in a three-match series. The two teams are “Asia XI” and “Africa XI.”
Interim Chairman of the Africa Cricket Association (ACA) and Zimbabwe Cricket’s Chairman, Tavengwa Mukuhlani said at a press conference, “The Afro-Asia Cup, apart from the cricket, brings the much-needed financial input to the organisation, and the appetite is huge from both ends”.
“We have had conversations with our counterparts within the Asia Cricket Council, and obviously our African contingents, they want the Afro-Asia Cup to be revived”, he further added. Reports suggest that the ACA has established a six-member committee to oversee the proceedings to bring back this event.
The tournament was first played in 2005 with both sides winning one game each and the decider match was washed out. In 2007, Asia XI won all three games against Africa XI. It was last played back in 2007.
Possibility of Shaheen Afridi, Jasprit Bumrah, Virat Kohli and Babar Azam in the same team
The Asia XI team mainly had players from India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Now players from Afghanistan will be there as well. There’s a possibility of watching players like Jasprit Bumrah and Shaheen Afridi in the same team.
The likes of Rashid Khan, Rohit Sharma, Muhammad Rizwan and many other big names will be on the Asia XI side. The Africa XI mainly consists of players from South Africa and Zimbabwe.
We’ve seen the likes of MS Dhoni playing with Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. Other big names include Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammed Asif, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly etc who played for the Asia XI.
The Afro-Asia Cup is a 3-match series in ODI format. It aimed to promote talent and bring the best players together. The fans will certainly love the tournament coming back after all these years.
