Tag: Asia Cup 2025

The arch-rivals Pakistan and India are set to clash again after their recent encounter in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, as the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has reportedly finalised the window for the upcoming Asia Cup.

According to Indian media, the Asia Cup 2025, which is set to be played in T20 format, will be played in September. The highly anticipated continental tournament is set to feature a total of up to 19 matches; however, the venue has not been confirmed yet.

The tournament was originally scheduled to be played in India, but the decision to relocate it to a neutral venue arose from the complex dynamics between India and Pakistan.

The ACC officials are reportedly deliberating between Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with the BCCI remaining the designated hosts, to avoid any tensions between Pakistan and India.

For the unversed, the Indian government refused to send its cricket team to Pakistan for the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025, forcing the apex cricketing body to adopt a hybrid model, with Team India playing their games in Dubai.

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Meanwhile, Pakistan will play their games in Sri Lanka during the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, set to be hosted by the BCCI and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).

Asia Cup 2025 will feature eight teams, including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, UAE, Oman, and Hong Kong, besides India and Pakistan.

The eight teams will be divided into two groups, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the Super Four stage. The best teams from the Super Four will then compete in the final.

This format guarantees at least two matches between Pakistan and India, with a possibility of a third if both teams qualify for the final.

There are four Asia Cups scheduled in the current cycle, which ends in 2031. After the 2025 edition, which will feature 19 matches, the 2027 edition will take place in Bangladesh and consist of 13 matches in the ODI format.

This will be followed by a T20 format tournament in 2029, hosted by the PCB but played in a neutral country and featuring 19 matches. Finally, the 2031 edition will be held in Sri Lanka in the ODI format, consisting of 13 matches.

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Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali on Monday, called for the relocation of ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2025 from India.

Ali, while speaking on his YouTube channel, did not mince his words to slam Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah for what he termed a strategic move to put Pakistan’s participation in upcoming major tournaments in jeopardy.

“Well done, Jay Shah. You’ve killed two birds with one stone. You kill two birds with one stone, but Basit Ali kills three birds with one stone. Now let me give you some free advice. Try to shift the Asia Cup to some other country. Jay Shah could take a U-turn after my show” Ali said.

Ali then suggested that Pakistan might refuse to travel to India for the Asia Cup 2025 if the BCCI decided against sending their national men’s team to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025.

“Jay Shah knew that India would have to go to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy; otherwise, Pakistan won’t come for the Asia Cup. Pakistan won’t even go for the T20 World Cup if India says no for the Champions Trophy.

“To hell with the hybrid model. There could also be another lollipop of India adopting a hybrid model for the Asia Cup so that Pakistan do the same for the Champions Trophy.”

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The former cricketer then went on to praise Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi, stating he is as sharp as his BCCI counterpart Shah.

“I agree Jay Shah is very sharp, but the guy in front of him, the current PCB chairman, is also in the same league. Now you will have to come forward openly and declare that the Asia Cup is in India, so we would have to go to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy,” Basit Ali concluded.

It is worth mentioning here that India refused to tour Pakistan for last year’s Asia Cup and the continental event was thus, held in a hybrid model with Sri Lanka emerging as a co-host.

As per the hybrid model, Pakistan could host only four matches while the rest of the games were played in Sri Lanka including the final.

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India will host the Men’s Asia Cup 2025, scheduled to be played in T20 format while Bangladesh will host the event in ODI format in 2027.

Both editions of the Men’s Asia Cup will feature a total of six teams Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and a sixth team which will be finalized after the completion of the qualifying event.

The development was confirmed when the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) issued the Invitation for Expressions of Interest (IEOI) for the sponsorship rights document on Saturday.

The letter extends an invitation to interested parties to submit an IEOI for ACC Sponsorship Rights between 2024 and 2027.

The document further highlighted that all information is provisional and subject to change at the ACC’s sole discretion without responsibility, including timetables, dates, formats, and locations.

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Notably, the official schedule of the ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2025 has not been finalized yet while it is expected that the six-team tournament will be played in September next year after the monsoon season ends in the country.

Remember, Pakistan were given the hosting rights of the previous edition of the continental event. However, it was played in a hybrid model with Sri Lanka emerging as the co-host after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) refused to send Team India to Pakistan.

As a result, Pakistan could host just four matches while the rest of the nine matches including the final were played in Sri Lanka.

The tournament, which was coined as an ideal opportunity for the top Asian sides to prepare for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 was won by India.

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