Virat Kohli, Babar Azam could play for same team as Afro-Asia Cup might be revived: Report

Cricketers from India and Pakistan could be seen playing together soon, as cricketing boards are reportedly mulling reviving the Afro-Asia Cup, that was played in 2005 and 2007. Afro-Asia Cup was a cricket tournament that was played in 2005 and 2007 and had two teams competing in it — Asia XI, where top cricketers from the sub-continent represented and Africa XI, a side that featured players from South Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe.

The tournament, however, was discontinued in the years that followed, due to political tensions between India and Pakistan. Having said that, India and Pakistan have only played one bilateral series (in 2012) since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

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Potential revival talks 

Jay Shah will officially take over as International Cricket Council (ICC) on 1 December, and discussions on a potential revival of the tournament could take place if all goes well. The tournament was held in the ODI format last time around, but should it be revived, it could b held in the T20 format. Samod Damodar, African Cricket Association (ACA) president, opened up on the possibility of the tournament taking place.

“Personally, I am very hurt that it (Afro-Asia Cup) didn’t happen. There was not adequate momentum through the ACA, but it is being looked at again. I think it was basically a lack of understanding and not buying into the concept. Our members are regretting it. It needed to be pushed by Africa,” Samod was quoted as saying by Forbes.

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Past editions of Afro-Asia Cup

The inaugural edition of the Afro-Asia Cup saw stars like Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag, Ashish Nehra, Shoaib Akhtar, Kumar Sangakkara, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mahela Jayawardene play for Asia XI. Should the tournament be reintroduced, stars like Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, Rohit Sharma, Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan could be playing for the same side.

MS Dhoni did take part in the competition in 2007, hitting an unbeaten 139 in the third match to help Asia XI win by 13 runs. The report adds that the tournament was almost rebooted two years back and could have been held in 2023. However, internal politics within the ACA led to that plan being cancelled. Due to political tensions, India and Pakistan do not play in bilateral series anymore, instead only facing off in ICC and ACC tournaments.

Damodar is hopeful that the Afro-Asia Cup could “break down” those barriers. “These matches could break down barriers that are there politically. Cricket can help build the bridges rather than burn it up. I don’t personally believe that players are antagonistic against each other, so I’m sure they would be up for it,” he added.