Asian Cricket Council chairman Mohsin Naqvi has announced on Saturday that the men’s Asia Cup 2025 will be held in the UAE from September 9 to 28.
Naqvi, who is also chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) took to ‘X’ to disseminate the announcement.
“I am delighted to confirm the dates of the ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2025 in UAE. The prestigious tournament will take place from September 9th to 28th. We look to a spectacular display of cricket. Details schedule will be out soon,” Naqvi posted.
The venue of the event was earlier decided at an ACC meeting on July 24. All 25 member nations attended the meeting.
India vs Pakistan encounter will likely take place thrice
BCCI is the host of the tournament but it is being held in the UAE as Pakistan is also a fixed participant of the continental cup. Both India and Pakistan have mutually agreed to compete only at neutral venues till 2027 due to the ongoing cross-border tension between them.
As per ACC’s deal with the broadcasters, India and Pakistan will be put in the same group and would clash against each other in the Super Six stage too. Moreover, a potential third meeting could also take place if both teams reach the final.
This edition of Asia Cup will be held in T20 format as is the convention with the next ICC global meet being T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
As clubbed in the same group, India and Pakistan are certainly set to collide, but given what transpired in the World Championship of Legends tournament, where Indian players backed out from playing against Pak, a similar approach can be taken by Team India and BCCI.
As for the previous tournament, Team India emerged victorious in 2023 when they secured a dashing win of 10-wickets over Sri Lanka in the final. The reigning champions India will enter the tournament as favorites again.