Reports: ACC plans to host Asia Cup in 2nd week of September

The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) intends to organise the Asia Cup 2025 in the second week of September, with September 10 being the potential start date. The T20 competition is slated to feature six teams: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and the UAE. The final timetable will most likely be revealed in early July, following an official decision expected next week.

UAE’s frontrunner will host the entire tournament.

Although India is the scheduled host for this edition of the Asia Cup, political tensions with Pakistan, following the Pahalgam terror attack in April and India’s Operation Sindoor in May, have rendered it doubtful that the event will be held on Indian soil. Meanwhile, the UAE has emerged as the favourite for hosting the full event. According to, promotional work for the tournament has already begun, despite the fact that the ACC has yet to officially announce the location.

Notably, there is discussion on employing a hybrid approach, which was previously employed in the 2023 Asia Cup. While the tournament was hosted by Pakistan, India refused to travel over the border, forcing the ACC to relocate all India matches, including the final, to Sri Lanka, where the Men in Blue eventually won their eighth Asia Cup. The ICC Champions Trophy 2025, where Pakistan was the official host, had to be contested in a hybrid format, with India’s matches taking place in the UAE. This was the first time an ICC event had been conducted in this fashion.

India-Pakistan to lock horns in Colombo

Despite the strained bilateral relations, India and Pakistan continue to meet in multilateral tournaments. Recently, the ICC announced fixtures for two major women’s events, the Women’s ODI World Cup (to be hosted by India and Sri Lanka) and the Women’s T20 World Cup (to be hosted by England). Notably, the India-Pakistan games in these events will be played at neutral venues, with the ODI game scheduled in Colombo and the T20 game in Edgbaston.