The Africa Cricket Association (ACA) has confirmed that the Afro-Asia Cup, which pits an African XI against an Asia XI, will be reinstated. At its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Saturday, the ACA established a six-member temporary committee to investigate ways to expand cricket players' chances in Asia and Africa. South Africa hosted the tournament's first edition in 2005, while India hosted the championship the following year. The 2009 version was supposed to take place in Kenya, but for some reason, that never transpired.
"The Afro-Asia Cup, apart from the cricket, brings the much-needed financial input to the organisation, and the appetite is huge from both ends," Tavengwa Mukuhlani, interim chair of the ACA, said in a press conference, ESPNcricinfo reported.
"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,” Mukuhlani, who’s also the Zimbabwe Cricket Chair, added.
Cricket players from India and Pakistan will have the opportunity to play in the same starting lineup if the Afro-Asia Cup takes place. India and Pakistan have not engaged in bilateral relations since January 2013; instead, they have only faced off at ICC and ACC competitions. Since the 2008 Asia Cup, India has not visited Pakistan.
The final match in the five-match series was called off, and the series ended in a 1-1 draw in 2005. Sanath Jayasuriya, Shahid Afridi, and Virender Sehwag were among the notable players. Inzamam-ul-Haq led the team, which included well-known players Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, and Ashish Nehra.
Asia emerged victorious in 2007 after sweeping the series 3-0. Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammed Asif, and Mohammed Yousuf shared the field with players like Harbhajan Singh, MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, and Sourav Ganguly in 2007.
