Planning for the next multi-nation cricket has begun. A couple of days ago, we learnt that the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is looking to hold the Asia Cup 2025 in September. Keeping the T20 World Cup 2026 in mind, the tournament will be held in T20 format.
How BCCI-PCB deal affects Asia Cup
It was also revealed that the number of teams, which was six in the last edition (2022), will be increased to eight for Asia Cup 2025. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan are the four Test-playing nations; the remaining would be the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, and Hong Kong.
However, the venue wasn’t confirmed. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been granted the hosting rights, but since BCCI and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) made a deal last year that India vs. Pakistan would be hosted at neutral venues until 2029, the Asia Cup 2025 can’t be played in India.
The venue for Asia Cup 2025, unconfirmed
UAE and Sri Lanka are named as the two potential venues. However, the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) has ruled the possibility out. At least for now. They are ready to host the event and can do so, in quick time but until now, the ACC hasn’t approached them.
“We’ve only come to know from the media that we are hosting the Asia Cup. There’s been no official confirmation from us in this regard. Our unique selling point (USP) is that we can host events at short notice. In the last five years, we’ve hosted the Indian Premier League, Pakistan Super League, the Asia Cup, and (Women’s T20) World Cup all at very short notice. So, we are prepared. We are (always) in a state of readiness, anytime we are given an opportunity to host an event,” ECB COO Subhan Ahmed told reporters in Dubai.
