Imagine the excitement for cricket fans if Pakistan’s Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi, along with India’s Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, played on the same team.
This dream union could soon become a reality. But how and when could this happen, if at all?
According to the Indian media, an important development is coming from the cricket circles: talks to start the famous cricket tournament ‘Afro-Asia Cup’ once again are starting.
If anyone does not know what the Afro-Asia Cup is, let us tell them that this tournament was played in 2005 and 2007, and two teams (Asia XI and Africa XI) participated.
The Asia XI included cricketers from Asian teams, including Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka, while the Africa XI had players from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and neighbouring countries.
After two successful editions, this tournament could not continue due to political tension between Pakistan and India.
The 2008 Mumbai attacks badly affected the cricketing relationship between Pakistan and India, and this is the reason why the two countries do not even play series against each other.
However, according to Indian media, this Afro-Asia Cup tournament is likely to be restarted after Jay Shah becomes the new chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in December this year.
Indian media say that the new season of the Afro-Asia Cup can be held in T20 format.
If the final decision is made, the cricketing world will likely see a moment in 2025 that has never happened before. The teams of Pakistan and India are playing on the same team, and then possibly Babar and Kohli are on the same team.
The Asian XI of the first Afro-Asia Cup in 2005 included many famous Asian cricketers, including Virender Sehwag, Shahid Afridi, Muhammad Yousuf, Abdul Razak, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahila Jayawardene, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Nehra.
