Pakistan Should Say No To Its Players Playing With India In Afro-Asia Cup- Salman Butt
Published - 01 Jul 2022, 07:17 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:09 AM
Salman Butt was strongly in opposition to the idea of India and Pakistan players playing together in the same team in the proposed reboot of the Afro-Asia Cup that is expected to be greenlit this month when the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meets.
The Afro-Asia Cup was played twice in 2005 and 2007 in India and South Africa respectively and featured stars from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka for the Asia team and South Africa, Kenya, and Zimbabwe for the Africa team. Many stars like Shoaib Akhtar, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Mohammad Yousuf, Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan and others are featured on the Asian side.
Asian Cricket Council (ACC) President Jay Shah revealed that the proposal to bring back Afro-Asia Cup will get the final nod in the ACC meeting this July.
He told Reuters: “We have gone through some proposals on this subject. It is a premium tournament that will not only generate revenue but also help develop cricket in Africa. We are currently working on the legal aspects.”
This will give fans a chance to see Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Babar Azam, and Shaheen Afridi playing for the same.
India Doesn’t Want To Play Matches Against Us Except For The ICC Events: Salman Butt Opposes India And Pakistan Players Playing Together
However, former Pakistan captain Salman Butt is not in favor of the cricketers from the two countries playing together in the tournament. According to Butt, the two nations don’t play against each other bilateral, and hence, Pakistan should “say no” to taking part in the Afro-Asia Cup.
“If it happens, will they play together? Will the policy-makers have no objection to it? You (India) don’t want to play matches against us except for the ICC events. Just because Afro-Asia cup would be a commercial exercise, will they (the cricketers) play together? Why would they (India) object to it. Pakistan should say no instead if that’s the case. If you want to play, play it properly, or don’t play at all,” said the former Pakistan captain on his YouTube channel.
