T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav throughout a press convention in Mumbai. File
| Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini
“India is playing Pakistan, right? When are they meeting?”
The immigration officer at Delhi airport posed a fast question on discovering out the goal of journey to the United Arab Emirates. Geopolitical realities, in the aftermath of a four-day army battle between the neighbours in May that adopted a terror assault in Pahalgam, could have forged doubts on the Asia Cup in the months main up, however now that the seventeenth version of the continental occasion is getting underway on Tuesday (September 9, 2025), there may be no disputing the fixture that may occupy centrestage over the subsequent three weeks.
As has been the case in multi-nation tournaments for the previous decade, it’s not by coincidence that India — the official host — and Pakistan have been drawn collectively in Group A alongside United Arab Emirates and debutant Oman. It implies that Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka must slug it out to be amongst the two groups from Group B, additionally comprising Hong Kong, that advance to the subsequent stage. If issues go in keeping with plan, India will face Pakistan as soon as extra in the Super Four part, with a 3rd assembly potential supplied each groups enter the summit conflict on September 28.
Beyond the huge draw that India versus Pakistan continues to be in the eyes of the organisers despite the fact that current contests counsel in any other case, the Asia Cup’s survival has been helped by its flexibility since 2016 in switching between the 50-over and T20 variations based mostly on the calls for of the cricketing calendar.
The earlier occasion in 2023, received by India, was held in the 50-over format forward of the ODI World Cup that yr. This version, that includes eight sides for the first time in the competitors’s four-decade existence, shall be a T20 affair to facilitate preparations for subsequent yr’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan will take on Hong Kong in the opener at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
The Men in Blue, who received the T20 World Cup final yr, will kick off their marketing campaign towards UAE in Dubai on Wednesday. After a chronic break from nationwide obligation since the finish of the Test sequence towards England on August 4, India’s gamers shall be wanting to get again into aggressive mode at a venue the place they’ve fond reminiscences of profitable the ICC Champions Trophy simply six months in the past. That there may be intense competitors for locations is distinctly clear from the absence of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer in the 15-member contingent.
Based on current proof, there is no such thing as a apparent challenger to India’s may. Sri Lanka was skittled out for 80 in a five-wicket defeat to Zimbabwe on September 6 whereas Afghanistan and Pakistan blew cold and hot in the just-concluded tri-series that the latter received. Bangladesh has curiously obtained the higher of each Pakistan and Sri Lanka of late, nevertheless it has proven a worrying pattern of faltering in crunch conditions towards India.
If there’s a ray of hope for these groups, it’s that pre-tournament expectations don’t at all times play out at the Asia Cup. After all, there has by no means been an India-Pakistan remaining in all these years.
Published – September 08, 2025 04:21 pm IST