Months after the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor, India vs Pakistan may play in…
New Delhi: Despite calls by several former cricketers and stakeholders to break cricketing ties between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack in April, the cricketing relationship between the two countries can continue in multilateral tournaments. According to a report by Cricbuzz, there seems to be growing confidence in the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) that the 2025 Asia Cup will go ahead as scheduled. The tournament is likely to begin on September 10.
Where and in what format will the tournament be held?
The 2025 Asia Cup is set to be conducted in the T20 format, featuring six participating nations: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and the UAE. Initially, there were uncertainties surrounding the tournament owing to strained Indo-Pak relations. However, the situation has started to show signs of improvement. The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is likely to convene in the first week of July, during which the complete schedule for the tournament is expected to be announced.
What is the status of hosting?
India is the official host of the 2025 Asia Cup. However, according to the pre-determined agreement between the BCCI and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the tournaments hosted by them will be held at neutral or hybrid venues. For this reason, the UAE is being considered the most likely venue for the tournament. Last time the 50-over Asia Cup was jointly held in Pakistan and Sri Lanka was in 2023.
Popularity and controversy of Indo-Pak matches
India and Pakistan teams faced each other two times in the 2023 Asia Cup. At that time, the ACC was accused of deliberately scheduling the tournament in such a way that as many matches as possible could be held between the two teams. Indo-Pak matches are one of the most watched sporting events in the world, which also generate significant revenue for the cricket boards.
Gautam Gambhir’s strong opinion about Pakistan
Gautam Gambhir, the current head coach of Team India, had advocated a complete end to Indo-Pak cricket relations. “My personal opinion is that until cross-border terrorism stops, there should be no relations between India and Pakistan — be it sports, Bollywood or art. The lives of our citizens and soldiers are most important,” he said in an interview to CNN-News18 in May.
Next India-Pak clash after Asia Cup
After Asia Cup 2025, the women’s cricket teams of India and Pakistan will also face each other. This match will be in the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup to be jointly hosted in India and Sri Lanka in October. The two teams will face each other on October 5 in Colombo.
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