Due to the political situation between the neighbouring countries, India and Pakistan barely play against each other in the sport loved by both countries, i.e. cricket. The arch-rivals now only compete in the ICC events such as the World Cup. Moreover, the players also do not play in any T20 leagues together.
However, players of the two nations might be seen playing together soon. As per reports, a reboot of the Afro-Asia Cup is under works. The players of the two giant cricketing nations might be seen playing together in 2023.
“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,” ACC head of commercial and events Prabhakaran Thanraj told Forbes.
Speaking of India and Pakistan players playing together, Thanraj said that this event could bridge the gap between the two boards. “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,” he added.
Meanwhile, in the mid-2000s, Pakistan’s Shoaib Akhtar and Shahid Afridi shared the field with India’s Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid, while the African XI had players from South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Kenya. The rebooted version may be played in the T20 format, which is expected to be played in June-July next year.
At the ICC board meeting in April, Jay Shah will meet with Sumod Damodar, the new head of the African Cricket Association, and Mahinda Vallipuram, the chairman of the ACC’s development committee and an Associate Member director on the ICC board, to discuss the same.
