The competition may present the exceptional opportunity for players from Pakistan and India to be teammates.
The Africa Cricket Association (ACA) has announced plans to bring back the Afro-Asia Cup, which consists of a series of white-ball matches between an Asian and an African XI. A six-person temporary committee was appointed by the continental body at its AGM on Saturday in order to reform the ACA and expand the number of competitive possibilities available for players on the continent.
Reaching out to other organizations, including the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), and investigating cross-continental prospects, like the Afro-Asia Cup, are among its objectives. Only two previous tournaments were held, in South Africa in 2005 and India in 2007. The third version, which was supposed to take place in Kenya in 2009, never happened, but it might yet happen nearly twenty years later. Players from India and Pakistan, who currently do not play bilateral cricket against one another, would have a rare opportunity to be included in the same Asia XI side if the competition were to recur.
At a news conference, Tavengwa Mukuhlani, the Zimbabwe Cricket Chair and interim chair of the ACA, stated, “Aside from the cricket, the Afro-Asia Cup brings the much-needed financial input to the organization, 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.”
Inzamam-ul-Haq captained the 2005 Asia team, which featured Rahul Dravid, Ashish Nehra, and Anil Kumble. In the 2007 Asia XI team, Mohammed Asif, Mohammed Yousuf, and Shoaib Akhtar were joined by MS Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, and Sachin Tendulkar. India and Pakistan played frequent bilateral cricket during the time, and their ties were cordial both on and off the cricket field. That equation was altered by the 2008 Mumbai attacks, though, and the teams have only played one bilateral white-ball series since 2012–2013. Other than playing in ICC tournaments, they have only visited India a few times; India hasn’t played in Pakistan since the 2008 Asia Cup.
Although it is still in the planning stages, the ACA also intends to introduce the Africa Premier League, a “mini version of the IPL,” according to CEO Cassim Suliman. “We intend to introduce the Africa Premier League following board approval. Right now, we’re occupied with that aspect of the sponsorship. After everything is in order, we will approach the board, gain their approval, and proceed from there,” he stated. It’s the IPL’s little version. In order to make sure that everyone gains in that way, we are taking the IPL concept and advancing it. The board will make the decision about where we will play. We will examine facilities that will be worthy of attracting spectators. We’re still in the early stages. To ensure that we get things started, we naturally want to do things correctly the first time. However, the board will determine the specific host, and we will then present the matter to them. With a lower status, it will resemble the IPL format, and we will expand it from there.”
Although South Africa’s SA20 is the only franchise league in Africa at the moment, Mukuhlani was optimistic that a South African team may participate in the Africa Premier League and pledged Zimbabwean players to the new competition. “The participation of South Africa and Zimbabwe gives context to the competition, and there is also the experience that the upcoming teams get from playing alongside players from South Africa and Zimbabwe,” he stated. “So yes, we will participate.”
