India face Pakistan in Dubai as ACC announces 2025 Asia Cup venues
'The tournament will be played across two world class venues of Dubai, which will host 11 matches, and Abu Dhabi, which will host eight matches, bringing a total of 19 T20 internationals to fans across the region,' the ACC said in its statement.
Apart from India and Pakistan, the other participants in the tournament are Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, UAE and Oman. India are designated hosts, although the tournament will be played in the venues in UAE. India, Pakistan, UAE and Oman are slotted in Group A while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Hong Kong are in Group B.
The teams last met in an ODI during the Champions Trophy at the same venue, with India beating Pakistan by six wickets on the back of Virat Kohli's century. Their last T20 meeting came during the 2024 T20 World Cup in New York with a Rohit Sharma-led Indian side edging their rivals by six runs.
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.
The possibility of at least one match up between India and Pakistan at the Asia Cup has been a matter of some controversy. The ACC has stated in its statement that there is potential for more games between the two teams after the group stage with their set to be a Super Four stage and then a final.
Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary is among those who questioned how India are playing Pakistan in the tournament after the Pahalgam terror attack in April. 'The situation was so bad, how can we think of an India-Pakistan match? I feel that it should be considered again and the India-Pakistan match should not happen in such an environment,' Tiwary said, speaking on ANI.
The two sides were slated to meet in the Women's Asia Cup for emerging players last month. However, the BCCI withdrew from the tournament in the aftermath of the terror attacks and the consequent escalation in hostilities.
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