No India vs Pakistan bilaterals, but Asia Cup 2025 clash greenlighted by Sports Ministry: Report

The Indian government has reportedly given a green light to Indian cricket team’s match against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025. The upcoming India vs Pakistan match on 14 September in Dubai has been facing multiple calls of boycott by Indian fans in the aftermath of the Phalagam terror attack by Pakistan-backed attackers, which led to the death of 26 people.

India retaliated with Operation Sindoor, a co-ordinated military from India’s Armed forces, destroying multiple terror camp sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. But considering the barbarity of the Phalagam terror attack, Indian cricket fans have been constantly demanding a complete boycott of the Pakistan cricket team in global cricketing events.

The Indian Champions team also cancelled their two matches against Pakistan in the World Championship of Legends (WCL) 2025 after outrage from fans.

Sports Ministry greenlights IND vs PAK at Asia Cup 2025

However, the Indian Sports Ministry has decided not to stop Team India from playing against Pakistan in the multi-lateral Asia Cup 2025 next month, as per news agency PTI. The Indian Sports Ministry on Tuesday unveiled its new policy regarding India’s international engagements with a major focus on games against Pakistan.

More from First Cricket

India vs New Zealand LIVE Score 1st T20 at Nagpur: Men in Blue go 1-0 up with 48-run win in Nagpur Bangladesh T20 World Cup participation Highlights: ICC board votes to replace Bangladesh with another team

As per the policy, India will not play any bilateral sporting events with Pakistan, but the Men in Blue will not be stopped from taking part in the match against Pakistan in the Asia Cup.

“India’s approach to sports events involving Pakistan reflects its overall policy in dealing with that country,” the Sports Ministry’s policy read.

“In so far as bilateral sports events in each other’s country are concerned, Indian teams will not be participating in competitions in Pakistan. Nor will we permit Pakistani teams to play in India,” it added.

Quick Reads

View All

'Won't require surgery...': Real reason behind Jasprit Bumrah's absence from 5th Test revealed in new report

PCB bans players from WCL over India-Pakistan match controversy

The restriction will not apply to multilateral tournaments, a source told news agency PTI.

“We will not stop Indian cricket team from playing in Asia Cup as it is multilateral,” the ministry source said.

“But Pakistan will not be allowed on Indian soil for bilateral competitions. But we will not stop them from multilateral events as we will abide by Olympic Charter,” he added.

It will be interesting to see how Indian fans react to this development.

Besides the 14 September group match, Indian and Pakistan could face each other once again in the Super Four and also in the final.