Rohit Sharma, Babar Azam, Virat Kohli to become teammates as Afro-Asia Cup set for revival

The dream to see Babar Azam, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Afridi, and Jasprit Bumrah playing for the same team might soon turn into reality. As per the reports in ESPNCricinfo, it is learned that the Afro-Asia Cup is all set to be revived, and the white-ball matches between an Asian XI and an African XI will resume soon.

Africa Cricket Association (ACA) had its AGM recently, and as per the reports, they appointed a six-person interim committee to restructure the ACA and increase the number of competitive opportunities for players on the continent. It is learned their major aim is now to talk to the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and explore cross-continental opportunities such as the Afro-Asia Cup.

So far two editions of the tournament have taken place. The first edition took place in 2005 in South Africa and the second season was played in 2007 in India. The third edition was scheduled for 2009 in Kenya but the tournament was discontinued due to the issues with broadcasters.

We have had conversations with our counterparts within the Asia Cricket Council and our African contingents - Tavengwa Mukuhlani, interim chair of the ACA

Tavengwa Mukuhlani, interim chair of the ACA, who is also the Zimbabwe Cricket Chair, while speaking during the press conference, said that Afro-Asia Cup provides financial stability and also revealed that they had conversations with concerned bodies. He explained:

"The Afro-Asia Cup, apart from the cricket, brings much-needed financial input to the organisation, and the appetite is huge from both ends. We have had conversations with our counterparts within the Asia Cricket Council and our African contingents; they want the Afro-Asia Cup to be revived."

Asian Cricket Council so far hasn't responded to anything related to the revival of the Afro-Asia Cup

Asian Cricket Council so far hasn't responded to anything related to the revival of the event. Earlier, some reports claimed that discussions about reviving the tournament have been going on for the last two years, with Jay Shah, who is BCCI secretary and ACC Chairman, showing interest in reviving the tournament.

During the first edition of the tournament, the three-match ODI series ended in a draw. After the two enthralling games, the third game was washed out to the rain and the trophy was shared, However, in 2007, it was complete dominance from Asia XI as they won all three matches.

Inzamam-ul-Haq, Rahul Dravid, Ashish Nehra, and Anil Kumble played in the 2005 Afro-Asia Cup

The 2005 Asia squad was captained by Inzamam-ul-Haq and included Rahul Dravid, Ashish Nehra, and Anil Kumble while the 2007 Asia XI squad included MS Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar alongside Mohammed Asif, Mohammed Yousuf and Shoaib Akhtar.

If the tournament is revived, then the chances of Babar Azam, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Shaheen Afridi, and others playing for the team will be very high. It will be a massive step going forward since India and Pakistan don't play bilateral cricket against each other currently.

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