Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday confirmed that the Asia Cup 2025 will take place in the UAE from September 9 to 28. However, he said that the detailed schedule will be announced at a later date.
“I am delighted to confirm the dates for the ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2025 in UAE. The prestigious tournament will take place from September 9th to 28th. We look forward to a spectacular display of cricket! The detailed schedule will be out soon. #Cricketwins” Naqvi, also the Pakistan Cricket Board president, posted on X.
With only seven months left until the next T20 World Cup iteration to be played in India and Sri Lanka, the continental tournament will return to the T20 format. The previous edition of the Asia Cup was played in the ODI format on the road to the 2023 Cricket World Cup, where India demolished hosts Sri Lanka to lift the title.
While the BCCI are the designated host, the tournament will be played in a neutral setting in the United Arab Emirates with eight teams in contention. Besides India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh the competition will comprise Hong Kong, UAE and Oman.
After the recent geopolitical tensions between Pakistan and India, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had threatened to pull out of the ACC general body meeting that was slated to be held in Dhaka on Wednesday, chaired by ACC president and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Naqvi. However, with the BCCI and Sri Lanka Cricket chiefs attending the meeting through video conferencing, the schedule for the September event was finalised.
The last edition of the Asia Cup in 2023, too, was impacted by the India-Pakistan situation. With Pakistan hosting the tournament, India refused to cross the border. The BCCI ensured that India played their matches in Sri Lanka. For the PCB, the event proved to be a damp squib as Pakistan failed to make it to the final and India won the title contest against Sri Lanka at Colombo.
This pattern was replayed at the 2024 ICC Champions Trophy hosted by Pakistan. India pushed for a hybrid model once again, and played their games in Dubai. With India making it to the final — and winning the Cup — Pakistan missed its chance to host the title contest.
