International cricket stars Virat Kohli and Babar Azam are all set to play in the same team if everything goes well in conducting a rebooted version o=of Afro-Asia Cup in mid-2023.
The Afro-Asia Cup hadn’t been contested between 2005 and 2007, and neither India nor Pakistan had played a bilateral series since 2013 or a Test series against one another since 2007. With the exception of the World Test Championship, only ICC tournaments presently feature matches between the two sides.
According to a Forbes.com report, the Afro-Asia Cup scheduled to return in the T20 format in June–July 2023, where players from India and Pakistan may now play together.
“We haven’t got confirmation from the boards yet. We are still working on the white paper and it will be submitted to both boards. But our plan is for the best players from India and Pakistan to be playing in the Asian XI. Once plans are finalized we will go into the market for sponsorship and a broadcaster. It will be a massive event. Really, really big,” ACC head of commercial and events Prabhakaran Thanraj was quoted as saying in the report.
Damodar, too, feels the same about the prospect of getting India and Pakistan players in one team under the Afro-Asia Cup. “I would love to see the opportunity to build the bridge and allow the players to play together. I’m sure the players want it to happen and to keep the politics away from it. It would be a beautiful thing to see players from Pakistan and India playing on the same team.”
According to the report, there are plans for the Afro-Asia Cup to become an annual event and provide opportunities for players from Associate nations. The U16 and U19 Afro-Asia Cups, U19 Women’s Asia Cup, U13 and U16 Asia Junior Cup, and ACC West and East Cups for Associates to qualify for Asia Cups are further events that the ACC hopes to grow by adding
