Cricket: Team India to withdraw from Asia Cup 2025?
BCCI responds to India’s 2025 Asia Cup withdrawal rumours
Given the recent tensions between Pakistan and India, which also forced the Indian Premier League and Pakistan Super League to be halted for a week, concerns began to surface around whether the Men in Blue would participate in the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 in September.
Those concerns ramped up a notch after several reports a couple of weeks ago emerged saying that India had informed the Asia Cricket Council (ACC) that they would be withdrawing from both the Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup and Men’s Asia Cup later in the year.
However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India have now responded to the claims, denying any decision or intention of pulling out of the upcoming tournament, or any ACC event in the foreseeable future. In an interview with the media, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said:
"Since this morning, it has come to our notice that some news reports have stated that the BCCI has decided not to participate in the Asia Cup and the Women's Emerging Teams Asia Cup. Such news is devoid of any truth. BCCI has not even discussed or taken any such steps regarding the ensuing ACC events, let alone writing anything to the ACC."
Saikia went on to explain that the BCCI’s sole focus for now is on the ongoing Indian Premier League and the team’s tour of England next month, both of which we will be covering in our expert cricket predictions.
Pakistan and India have not met in a bilateral series in 18 years, with all matches between the teams restricted to only ACC and ICC events, though even those matches were played under hybrid models, such as in the 2025 Champions Trophy and 2023 Asia Cup.
2025 Asia Cup format and overview
The 2025 Asia Cup is scheduled to run between September and October this year, with India set to host the competition as the defending champions. The tournament will feature eight teams and 13 matches, including a group stage, Super Four and the Grand Final.
The eight participating nations will be split into two groups, comprising four teams each, with the top two sides from each group progressing to the Super Four. A straight knockout match will determine the two teams that will battle it out in the final. The groups include:
Group A: India, Pakistan, UAE, Nepal
Group B: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong
As is the case in most tournaments, India vs Pakistan is expected to gain the most interest, and as it stands, they are set to face off on September 19 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, though it remains to be seen if a change of venue may have to be considered.
