Bumrah, Shaheen To Attack; Gill, Rohit, Babar, Kohli In; Probable Asia XI For Proposed Afro-Asia Cup
Shaheen Afridi and Jasprit Bumrah - (X.com)
On Wednesday, September 11, several reports flouted on the internet claiming the revival of the Afro-Asia Cup after 17 years. The historic cup started in 2005, saw just two seasons and got discontinued because of political issues between India and Pakistan.
The latest reports from Forbes mentioned that efforts are on to revive the Afro-Asia Cup. In case the proposed cup does materialise, then let's look at what Asia's probable XI would look like.
Shubman Gill And Rohit Sharma To Open
For the opening slot, there is no one better than Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma in the fifty-over format. In September 2023, the duo also broke the record for the fastest 1000 runs as a pair in ODIs for India.
During the recent tour to Sri Lanka, India lost the series, but Rohit and Gill provided the runs early on and stitched two fifty-plus stands in that tour as well, while the rest of the batting order faltered.
No. 3 - Virat Kohli
When it comes to batting at No.3, Virat is the only man that comes to mind, be it picking the playing XI for Asia XI or World XI. Virat has cemented his place at No.3 and needs no introduction. Excluding his recent failure in Sri Lanka, Virat has scored more than 11,000 runs at this position, which includes 43 hundreds.
No. 4 - Babar Azam
Pride of Pakistan, Babar, who is struggling with form, would take the No.4 spot in the team, as it is a dream for cricket fans to see Babar and Virat to feature in the same team. Also, the organisers would look at what is best for the game from a commercial point of view. Nonetheless, Babar's batting capabilities are enough to see him grab the No.4 position.
No. 5 - Mohammad Rizwan
There is no better middle-order batter in Asia than Mohammad Rizwan, who has again and again proved his mettle as a batter. The right-hand batter would also keep wickets and perform the anchor role, as seen in the 2023 World Cup, where he was Pakistan's best batter.
No. 6 - Hardik Pandya
Coming to the all-rounders, Hardik Pandya would lead the pack as he is in scintillating form, as seen in the T20 World Cup 2024, where he contributed with the bat and also bowled the crucial title-winning last over of the finals in Barbados.
No. 7 - Shakib Al Hasan
Shakib will go down in history as one of the best all-rounders of the game. At No.7, he can contribute with the bat and spread his magic with the ball in the middle orders.
No. 8 - Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan is arguably the best white-ball spinner in the world. His heroics in the 2023 World Cup almost led Afghanistan to the knock-out stages. Thus, Rashid would be Asia XI's premier spinner and can bat too.
No. 9 - Naseem Shah
Coming to the bowlers, Naseem Shah will be one of the quicks, as the youngster has impressed the critics with his fast bowling in the recent past. Shah is known to swing the ball and get crucial batters out.
No. 10 - Shaheen Afridi
Shaheen would start the proceedings with the new ball, as he has made a name for himself by picking wickets in the powerplay with lethal in-swingers.
No. 11 - Jasprit Bumrah
Bumrah,touted as the world's best bowler in the modern era, has taken the world by storm with his impressive bowling. He won the Player of the Tournament award in the T20 World Cup 2024.
Probable Asia XI For Afro-Asia Cup
- Rohit Sharma
- Shubman Gill
- Virat Kohli
- Babar Azam
- Mohammad Rizwan
- Shakib Al Hasan
- Hardik Pandya
- Rashid Khan
- Naseem Shah
- Shaheen Afridi
- Jasprit Bumrah
.jpg "Shreyas Iyer gets surprised")
 "Abhinav Tyagi")
