Afro-Asia Cup poised for revival after nearly 20 years: report

Last updated:Nov 5, 2024 5:30 PM IST

The tournament will see the best players from both Asia and Africa represent their continental squads as the two teams compete against each other in a series.

Virat Kohli and Babar Azam could play for the same team. Credit: Twitter

After almost two decades, the Afro-Asia Cup will reportedly be revived. The tournament will see the best players from both Asia and Africa represent their continental squad as the two sides face off in a series of white-ball matches.

According to a report from ESPNCricinfoThe Africa Cricket Association (ACA) held its annual general meeting (AGM) on Saturday where a six-member interim committee was appointed to help improve the number of competitive opportunities on the continent.

Another aim of theirs is to approach their continental counterparts in the Asia Cricket Council (ACC) to explore competitive opportunities between the two.

The tournament previously took place in 2005 (in South Africa) and 2007 (in India). A third edition was scheduled to be played in Kenya but did not take place and the tournament has not been played since.

Another unique opportunity presented by the revival of the intercontinental tournament is to see Indian and Pakistani players team up by representing the Asian XI.

“The Afro-Asia Cup, apart from the cricket, provides the much-needed financial contribution to the organization and the appetite is huge from both sides,” said Tavengwa Mukuhlani, interim chairman of the ACA, who is also the Zimbabwe Cricket Chair. said at a news conference.

“We have had discussions with our counterparts within the Asia Cricket Council (ACC), and obviously our African contingents want to see the Afro-Asia Cup revived,” he added.

The report also states that no formal request was made to the ACC, nor did any discussion take place at their recent meeting in Malaysia.

The 2005 Asia XI was led by former Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq and had the likes of Kumar Sangakkara and Virender Sehwag opening the batting. Other big stars who were sidelined include Zaheer Khan, Shoaib Akhtar, Anil Kumble and Shahid Afridi.

The 2007 Asia XI side was led by Mahela Jayawardene and included Sehwag, Sanath Jayasuriya, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, MS Dhoni and others.

The 2005 series was split between the two sides after the third game was wiped out. Zaheer Khan was the highest wicket-taker in the series with 9 wickets, while Kumar Sangakkara finished as the highest run-scorer with 97 runs.

In the 2007 series, Asia XI clinched the series with a 3-0 win after winning all three ODIS. Morne Morkel was the highest wicket-taker in the series with 8 scalps while Shaun Pollock topped the score with 223 runs in the three matches.