Will India pull out of Asia Cup 2025?

The tense diplomatic relations between Pakistan and India have sent shockwaves through Asian cricket, throwing the Asia Cup into jeopardy. The BCCI's latest move to boycott the tournament has heightened concerns about the event's future.

India’s top English daily, The Indian Express, reported while quoting sources that BCCI has decided not to play or host the Asia Cup which was a major opportunity to prepare for the 2026 T20 World Cup.

However, the exact fate of the tournament will be decided in the ACC meeting in the near future.

The biggest problem which India is facing is that the Asian cricket governing body (ACC) is being headed by a Pakistani federal minister Mohsin Naqvi, who also heads the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as its chairman.

"The Indian team can't play in a tournament that is organized by the ACC, whose chief is a Pakistani minister. That's the sentiment of the nation. We have verbally communicated to ACC about our withdrawal from the upcoming Women's Emerging Teams Asia Cup and our future participation in their events too is on hold. We are in constant touch with the Indian government," a BCCI source told an Indian English daily.

Some reports also say that BCCI has also boycotted the next month’s Emerging Women Teams Asia Cup which will be hosted by Sri Lanka.

Some reports also suggest that the next month’s Emerging Women’s Teams Asia Cup has been cancelled.

India, who was recently involved in a war with Pakistan, wants to pressurize Pakistan on the cricketing front as well.

A source close to Mohsin Naqvi told Nukta that it’s an ACC matter and they cannot comment on it.

“Only Mohsin Naqvi, as an ACC chief, can comment on it,” the source said.

India’s presence in the Asia Cup guarantees major revenues for the event and if it refuses to host or feature in it will definitely dent the event hugely.

The 2023 Asia Cup was hosted by Pakistan but India had played its matches in neutral center in Sri Lanka and eventually they also won the final. Pakistan had failed to make it to the decider in that event.

And this year too India refused to travel to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy and so it was eventually conducted on a hybrid model and India played its matches in the UAE.

Since 2007-2008, Pakistan-India cricketing relations have been strained and both nations don’t play bilateral series against each other and only play against each other in the ICC events and that too now in neutral venues as per the newly-decided hybrid model formula which will be effective until 2027.

Mohsin Naqvi became the ACC chief last month after former BCCI secretary Jay Shah got elected as the chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC).