In a big development, cricketers from India and Pakistan could play together as the Afro-Asia Cup is likely to return. It was played in 2005 and 2007 and the Asia XI featured big players from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The Africa XI had cricketers from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya. After two successful editions, the tournament was put on hold due to tension between India and Pakistan. The two neighbouring countries also stopped bilateral series.
However, with Jay Shah set to become the new chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) discussion will take place about a possible return of the tournament, and then make it one of the marquee events. It was played in the ODI format but the Afro-Asia Cup could be contested in T20 format. The Chairman of the African Cricket Association Samod Damodar spoke about the possibility of organizing the event once again. A
“I was hurt when the tournament was stopped. However, we are looking at it again. We didn’t give importance to the Afro-Asia Cup. Our members are regretting it,” Damodar was quoted as saying in a Forbes’ report.
If the proposal is accepted, the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi could play together.
“These games could break barriers as cricket can help in building the bridges. Players are not against each other and will happily come together for the tournament,” Damodar added.
MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Shoaib Akhtar, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara have played together in the tournament.
