After the blockbuster India-Pakistan clash in the 2025 Champions Trophy, the arch-rivals are set to play potentially each three more times in 2025 during the Asia Cup, which will be held in the T20 format this time around as all teams build up to the 2026 T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in February and March next year in India and Sri Lanka.

The hosting rights for the 2025 Asia Cup were allocated to India but the tournament will be held in a natural country as per a report by Cricbuzz. The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) have decided that whenever India and Pakistan are the designated hosts, the competition will take place in a third country.

The published information states that the ACC are yet to finalise the venue but the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Sri Lanka are being considered as the hosts. However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will retain the hosting rights. A similar arrangement was made in 2018 when India were awarded the hosting rights but the competition was held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The continental showpiece event has not taken place on Indian soil since 1991.

The 2023 Asia Cup was hit with major controversy after India refused to travel to Pakistan. After months of deadlock, the tournament was held in a hybrid model as Sri Lanka co-hosted the tournament. All matches of the Indian team including the final took place in Pallekele and Colombo.

The same report further states that the tournament will take place from the second to the fourth week of September. The tournament is likely to see 19 matches with eight teams set to participate (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, UAE, Oman, and Hong Kong). Nepal, who played in the 2023 Asia Cup, failed to qualify after finishing fourth in the qualifiers.

The tournament will start with a group stage with the four teams divided into two groups of four each. The top two teams in both groups will qualify for the Super Four. In the second round, all teams will play each other once. The teams in the first and second position on the table will then play the final.

India and Pakistan are set to be in the same group, and hence if they reach the final, the arch-rivals will face each other thrice in the tournament. It is worth noting that the two teams have never played the summit clash of the competition in history over 16 editions

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