India, Pakistan players likely to team up as Afro-Asia Cup’s revival on cards

The Africa Cricket Association (ACA) has once again announced its plans to revive the Afro-Asia Cup – a series of white-ball matches between Asia XI and Africa XI.

The development came after the ACA’s Annual General Meeting, held on Saturday.

In the meeting, a six-person interim committee was appointed to revamp the organization and also to increase competitive opportunities for players across the continent.

One of the main objectives of the interim committee is to establish partnerships with cricketing bodies like Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and to explore cross-continental initiatives including the Afro-Asia Cup.

There have been only two editions of the tournament, held in 2005 and 2007 respectively.

The third edition was planned to be held in Kenya in 2009 but was ultimately scrapped. However, after nearly two decades, there is a likelihood for the tournament to make its long-awaited return.

If the tournament gets revamped, cricket fans may get to see cricketers from Pakistan and India featuring in the same team.

Interim chair of ACA Tavengwa Mukuhlani, during a press conference, highlighted the financial significance of the tournament before sharing that he had discussions with his ACC counterparts and also with the African contingents, who are eager for the revival of the tournament.

"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," Mukuhlani said.

"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," he added.

However, as per the ESPN Cricinfo, the ACC officials did not respond by the time of the report’s publication. The news outlet further reported that no official request has been made to the ACC.