After much “will it, won’t it” brouhaha, the Asia Cup 2025 WILL take place between September 8 and 28 in the United Arab Emirates, multiple India media outlets have reported.
Per PTI, designated host BCCI, in partnership the Emirates Cricket Board, will conduct the Asia Cup in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Eight nations will be taking part in the tournament, which will run between September 8 and 28. ICC full members India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, along with UAE, Hong Kong and Oman, will make up the competing teams in the tournament.
The tournament is set to follow a group stage followed by Super Fours format.
An ACC official confirmed to PTI that the much-anticipated India-Pakistan clash “is likely to take place as planned,” while BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said an official announcement would be made “in a few days’ time.”
The 17-day event is expected to run from September 5 to 21, with India and Pakistan likely to be drawn into the same group. That raises the possibility of three encounters between the Asian giants — on September 7 (group stage), September 14 (Super Four), and potentially in the final on September 21.
These decisions were taken at the Asian Cricket Council’s annual general meeting on Thursday. The AGM took place in Dhaka, with all 25 ACC members (some of them like BCCI recorded their presence virtually) in attendance.
One of the key agendas of the meeting was to finalise the venue for the Asia Cup. The tournament was initially scheduled to be hosted by India in September.
India recently got a clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) over taking on Pakistan. Asia Cup and ICC events are the only cricket tournaments in which India is willing to play Pakistan.
Other key developments from the ACC AGM
Among the major outcomes of the AGM were the approvals for the audited financial accounts, the ACC budget, and the comprehensive tournament calendar for 2025–2026, in line with ACC’s sustained commitment to delivering structured development and high-quality cricketing opportunities across its Member countries.
ACC announced the inclusion of cricket in the upcoming Asian Games 2026 to be held in Japan, which will see participation 10 (ten) men’s and 8 (eight) women’s teams from across the continent, to be chosen based on their rankings.
The organization also welcomed 3 new member nations, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, and the Philippines into the ACC family, extending the reach of the sport into new and emerging cricket regions.
