India and Pakistan will face off in Group A of the 2025 Men’s Asia Cup, scheduled to take place in the UAE from September 9 to 28. Their highly anticipated group-stage encounter is slated for September 14. If both teams progress to the final, fans could witness up to three matchups between the two rivals.
The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, officially announced the dates for the 17th edition of the tournament on Saturday. Designed to align with the T20 World Cup calendar, this edition of the Asia Cup will follow the T20I format and, for the first time ever, feature eight participating teams—two more than the previous edition.
Group A consists of India, Pakistan, hosts UAE, and Oman. Group B includes Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan. The tournament will begin with Bangladesh taking on Hong Kong on September 9. The top two teams from each group will advance to a Super Four stage, with the leading two from that round securing a place in the final on September 28.
The dates and venues were finalized during the ACC’s annual general meeting held in Dhaka on Thursday. The tournament’s future had briefly been uncertain due to military tensions between India and Pakistan in May. However, following the AGM, Naqvi confirmed the tournament timeline during a press conference, although detailed scheduling was withheld at that point.
While India are officially the hosts, an earlier agreement between the BCCI and PCB allows for neutral venues when either country is hosting. This arrangement, established ahead of the Champions Trophy in Pakistan earlier this year, will remain in place for the next three years. During that tournament, India played all their matches, including the one against Pakistan, in Dubai, where they also won the final.
The India-Pakistan matches remain the most commercially valuable in the Asia Cup. Their placement in the same group makes at least two encounters possible—with a third showdown in the final a real possibility if both advance. Notably, however, an India-Pakistan final has never occurred in the history of the tournament.
India enter this year’s competition as the reigning champions, having defeated Sri Lanka in the 2023 final. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka were the winners of the previous T20I-format Asia Cup in 2022, beating Pakistan in the final.
