Tournament future unclear as India and Pakistan clash over hosting, AGM venue
The 2025 Asia Cup is facing increasing uncertainty amid a growing standoff between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), with the tournament’s very future now entangled in diplomatic and geopolitical tensions.
While the BCCI currently holds the hosting rights for the six-team event, recent political developments and security concerns—especially in the wake of the Pahalgam attack—have raised serious doubts about whether India will remain the host or even participate in the tournament.
The Asian Cricket Council (ACC), which oversees the competition, has yet to announce a schedule or venue. However, speculation is mounting that the tournament, slated for September and set to be played in the T20 format, may be relocated to the UAE to ease tensions and ensure participation from all member nations.
ACC AGM venue becomes latest flashpoint
Fueling the crisis is a separate dispute over the venue of the ACC Annual General Meeting (AGM). According to Cricbuzz, the BCCI has threatened to skip the meeting altogether if it proceeds in Dhaka, Bangladesh—as currently planned. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) are reportedly aligned with India’s stance.
Naqvi
The ACC’s constitution requires a quorum of at least three permanent (Test-playing) members for the AGM to proceed, making BCCI’s potential absence a major roadblock. The current ACC President, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, even traveled to Afghanistan in a failed bid to rally support for the Dhaka meeting.
‘The event has turned into a geopolitical matter’
The broader implications of the conflict have not gone unnoticed within the cricketing community. A source from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) told Cricbuzz that the issue has escalated far beyond cricket.
“It now seems the event has turned into a geopolitical matter. Aminul (Islam, the interim head of the BCB) could have handled the situation more carefully when approached by the PCB president to host the meeting. I think he could have taken more time because, in situations like this, taking time is part of the game. Probably due to inexperience, he agreed to host it without fully understanding the geopolitical implications,”
— A Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) source told Cricbuzz
This insight underscores the growing complexity of organizing multinational cricket tournaments in the region, where diplomatic relations continue to influence sporting decisions.
What’s next for the Asia Cup?
With the tournament’s fate hanging in the balance, all eyes are now on the ACC’s next move. If the AGM fails to convene or the diplomatic stalemate persists, both the schedule and format of the Asia Cup could be derailed—along with participation from key teams.
The crisis once again highlights how deeply intertwined geopolitics and cricket remain in Asia, particularly when it comes to India-Pakistan relations. For now, the Asia Cup hangs by a thread—and the thread is not a cricketing one, but a diplomatic one.
