After 16 years, the Afro-Asian Cup is scheduled to return, with players from arch-rivals India and Pakistan ready to compete. The last time the Afro-Asia Cup was held was in 2007. According to rumors, former India captain Virat Kohli and Pakistan cricket team captain Babar Azam will compete in this tournament.
The competition will take place in 2023, following the conclusion of the IPL season. The event will be contested in a T20 format, according to Forbes.com.
#OnThisDay in 2007, @msdhoni scored 139* off just 97 balls playing for Asia XI against Africa XI, in the Afro-Asia Cup in Chennai! pic.twitter.com/nnucRxF6an
— The Ring Side View (@theringsideview) June 10, 2017
“We haven’t gotten confirmation from the boards yet,” ACC marketing and events chief Prabhakaran Thanraj told Forbes.com. The white paper is still in the works and will be sent to both boards.
However, we intend for the Asian XI to include the finest players from India and Pakistan. We’ll start looking for sponsorship and a broadcaster after we’ve completed our ideas. It is going to be a huge occasion. “It’s huge.”
The top Indian cricketers that competed in the Afro-Asia Cup in 2007 were MS Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, and Virender Sehwag. Mohammad Yousuf and Mohammad Asif, both from Pakistan, were named to the Asia XI playing XI.
The Asia XI, captained by Mahela Jayawardene, won all three games of the three-match ODI series against Justin Kemp’s Africa XI.
If the Afro-Asia Cup is held, it will be one of the rare opportunities for cricket fans to witness their favorite players from different nations compete against each other. Only in ICC tournaments and Asia Cups do India and Pakistan meet each other. From 2012 to 2013, the country did not participate in any bilateral series.
