Finally, the year 2005 or the mid-2000s brought into the cricket fans’ view a rather uncanny yet thrilling competition: Afro-Asia Cup. It contained a most exciting combination in which players of the two opponent teams formed Asia XI and Africa XI to compete in various international format matches. The event attracted some stellar lineups in both the 2005 and 2007 events from across the continents: MS Dhoni, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble on one side; Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar on the other.
Well, it was a very out-of-the-box idea as top cricketers from the world come together to represent their respective continents and showcase some never-before-seen skills and sportsman spirit. While the Asia XI team was a mix of cricketing talents drawn from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, the Africa XI had cricket stars drawn from South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Kenya.
In the first series, in 2005, the three-match ODI series finished 1-1. The competition returned in 2007 with the introduction of the T20I format alongside the ODIs, which saw Asia XI sweep both the T20I and ODI series 3-0.
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The Afro-Asia Cup ran into geopolitical hostilities between India and Pakistan, and some broadcasting problems before being finally abandoned. There was some speculation to revive this competition, of which the latest speculation was 2023 in the T20 format. There are recent reports that the Afro-Asia Cup may be revived.
An XI featuring Suryakumar Yadav, Babar Azam, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Shaheen Afridi?
It could become a realityhttps://t.co/bVKNtgQhDX
— News18 CricketNext (@cricketnext) September 11, 2024
The past head of the Africa Cricket Association, now known as ACA, is very regretful because it is an opportunity that should have been taken sometime earlier. According to Sumod Damodar, one of the major reasons for the delay was a lack of momentum and follow-through from the ACA. He has however given an inkling that attempts to revive the competition are being tried afresh.
Coming back to the present times, an Asian XI could be set with today’s stars like Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah. The Africa XI could comprise leading players like Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Afridi.
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Sumod Damodar still holds out hope that Jay Shah, the new ICC chairman, and the head of development for the ACC, Mahinda Vallipuram, may play significant roles in the revival of the Afro-Asia Cup. “With Mahinda now in the ICC board, with Jay Shah leading it, there is fresh hope. Both have been very proactive in lending support to such ideas and their contribution could prove decisive in resuscitating the Afro-Asia Cup,” Damodar told Forbes.
