Reports: India, Pakistan players to play in same team as Afro-Asia Cup return looms

Two of the best batters of the modern era, Virat Kohli and Babar Azam might get to play alongside each other for the first time if reports around Afro-Asia Cup 2023 are to be believed. The tournament was last held in 2007 with MS Dhoni taking part in it. In its 2005 edition, Shahid Afridi joined hands with the likes of Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag on the same side.

India and Pakistan have not played a bilateral series since 2012-13 due to the political issues between the countries. The last time the two nations met was in the 2021 T20 World Cup where the Men in Green thrashed India by ten wickets. The Afro-Asia Cup will feature one side with top players from the Asian continent while the opponents will have players from the African continent.

Our plan is for the best players from India and Pakistan to be playing: ACC head

ACC head of commercial and events, Prabhakaran Thanraj mentioned that they are working on the white paper while noting his desire to see the India and Pakistan cricketers in action together. He added that the sponsorship and broadcasting details will come along once the tournament gets confirmed by the respective boards.

“We haven’t got confirmation from the boards yet. We are still working on the white paper and it will be submitted to both boards. But our plan is for the best players from India and Pakistan to be playing in the Asian XI. Once plans are finalized we will go into the market for sponsorship and a broadcaster. It will be a massive event. Really, really big,” Thanraj told Forbes.

Sumod Damodar, chairman of the African Cricket Association and a member of the influential Chief Executives’ Committee, felt that the tournament will be a great opportunity for the fans to witness the players from India and Pakistan in the same team.

“I would love to see the opportunity to build the bridge and allow the players to play together. I’m sure the players want it to happen and to keep the politics away from it. It would be a beautiful thing to see players from Pakistan and India playing on the same team,” Damodar said.