The Asia Cup 2025 countdown has started. The tournament will be played in the United Arab Emirates from 9 September, while the final match will be held on 28 September. Due to the ongoing tension between India and Pakistan, this tournament has been in constant headlines.
The Indian cricket team has declared its squad, while Pakistan also announced its team a few days ago. However, surprisingly, Pakistan had withdrawn its name from the Asia Cup once earlier.
Pakistan took back the name from Asia Cup
In the Asia Cup, the matches between India and Pakistan are always considered special. But you will be surprised to know that once Pakistan also withdrew its name from this tournament. The fourth edition of the Asia Cup was to be held in 1990-91 in India’s hosting, but Pakistan refused to play it due to stressful relations with India.
India also boycotted Asia Cup
Not only Pakistan, but India also refused to participate in the Asia Cup. The incident took place in 1986, when the second edition of the tournament was to be played in Sri Lanka. At that time, India refused to visit Sri Lanka due to the ongoing civil war and stressful situation in Sri Lanka. As a result, only Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh participated in that tournament.
Asia Cup will be 2025 in T20 format
Preparations for the Asia Cup 2025 have started loudly. This time the tournament will be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Keeping in mind the T20 World Cup 2026, this version of the Asia Cup will be played in T20 format. This time a total of 8 teams will participate in the tournament. These are divided into two groups, with 4-4 teams in each group. Super-4 matches will be played after the league stage and after that the champion will be decided through the final match.
