Asia Cup 2025: Teams, schedule, venues, tickets and how to follow

Seven nations volition look to dethrone India arsenic continental champions erstwhile the Asian Cricket Council’s (ACC) Asia Cup 2025 gets nether mode successful the United Arab Emirates (UAE) connected September 9.

The tourney is traditionally held each 2 years, with Sri Lanka hosting the erstwhile variation successful 2023, erstwhile India bushed the hosts to assistance the crown successful Colombo.

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Here’s a broad usher to the Asia Cup 2025:

When and wherever volition the Asia Cup beryllium held?

The tourney volition statesman with Afghanistan taking connected Hong Kong connected September 9 astatine the Zayed Cricket Stadium successful Abu Dhabi and reason with the last connected September 28 astatine the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

The 2 venues volition big the full tourney – comprising 19 matches – with Sharjah missing out.

What’s the afloat lucifer docket of the Asia Cup?

The afloat lucifer docket for the 2025 tourney tin beryllium accessed here.

Dubai International Stadium, located successful Dubai’s Sports City, has a capableness of 25,000 and is the venue for the Asia Cup 2025 last [File: Altaf Qadri/AP Photo]

Why isn’t India hosting the Asia Cup?

India was slated to big the tourney arsenic per the hosting rights schedule. While the Board of Control for Cricket successful India (BCCI) remains the authoritative big of the tournament, it is being played successful the UAE owed to the caller struggle betwixt India and Pakistan.

Before the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, hosted by Pakistan, the 2 neighbours agreed to play each different lone astatine neutral venues successful planetary cricket tournaments. Due to the logistical complications and the compact quality of the competition, the ACC decided to organise the full tourney successful the UAE.

Which teams are participating successful the Asia Cup 2025, and what’s the format?

The 8 participating nations are divided into 2 groups:

• Group A: India, Pakistan, Oman, UAE
• Group B: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong

The tourney volition beryllium played successful 2 radical stages, followed by the final.

Following the archetypal radical stage, the apical 2 teams from each radical volition participate the Super Four phase, wherever each teams volition look each different successful a round-robin format.

The apical 2 teams astatine the extremity of the Super Four volition suffice for the final.

The afloat squads database for the 8 teams tin beryllium accessed here.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤! 🏏

The ACC Men’s T20I Asia Cup kicks disconnected from 9th to 28th September successful the UAE! 🤩

Get acceptable for thrilling matchups arsenic the apical 8 teams successful Asia look disconnected for continental glory! 👊#ACCMensAsiaCup2025 #ACC pic.twitter.com/JzvV4wuxna

— AsianCricketCouncil (@ACCMedia1) July 26, 2025

Why is the Asia Cup being played successful the T20 format?

Up until the 12th variation of the tournament, the Asia Cup was played successful the 50-over one-day planetary (ODI) format. However, the ACC decided to power the format to Twenty20 for the 2016 variation to assistance teams hole for the 2016 T20 World Cup, arsenic the Asia Cup preceded the ICC lawsuit by a fewer weeks.

Since then, the Asia Cup has alternated betwixt the 2 white-ball cricket formats – T20 and ODI – to lucifer the ICC World Cup that follows.

India’s triumph successful Sri Lanka successful 2023 was followed by the 50-over World Cup a period later, portion this year’s tourney volition beryllium followed by the T20 World Cup successful February 2026.

Why is Nepal not playing successful the Asia Cup?

Five of the 8 slots for the Asia Cup 2025 were reserved for the ACC’s imperishable members: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The different 3 were allocated to the apical 3 teams astatine the ACC Premier Cup 2024, wherever Nepal finished fourth.

When is India vs Pakistan, and volition they truly look each different 3 times?

India and Pakistan are nary strangers to having the limelight shone connected them astatine planetary events, particularly cricket tournaments.

It is nary longer a astonishment erstwhile some teams are grouped unneurotic astatine mega events to guarantee astatine slightest 1 India vs Pakistan sellout game, but organisers of the Asia Cup person done 1 amended by trying to eke retired 1 much lucifer by introducing a round-robin benignant Super Four stage. This has resulted successful some teams gathering doubly successful the past 3 Asia Cups.

However, destiny and results person not gone the organisers’ mode successful the 16 erstwhile editions of the tournament, arsenic the teams person ne'er met successful the final.

So yes, India and Pakistan could look each different thrice astatine the Asia Cup. Their archetypal and astir definite gathering is successful Group A connected September 14 successful Dubai. Should they some suffice for the Super Four stage, they volition conscionable again connected September 21 astatine the aforesaid venue.

The September 28 last offers cricket fans the accidental of a 3rd India vs Pakistan lucifer successful 2 weeks – should some teams qualify.

Virat Kohli, centre, scored a period against Pakistan successful the teams’ past gathering successful the Asia Cup 2023 successful Colombo, Sri Lanka [File: Surjeet Yadav/Getty Images]

Who are the apical players to ticker astatine the Asia Cup 2025?

• Abhishek Sharma (India): The information that the young top-order batter has managed to carve a spot successful a highly competitory T20 Indian batting lineup is capable to people Sharma arsenic 1 to ticker successful the Asia Cup. The 24-year-old boasts the highest vocation onslaught complaint of 193 among each batters successful T20s and backs it up with 2 centuries and half-centuries successful the format.
• Rashid Khan (Afghanistan): Often regarded arsenic arguably the champion T20 bowler, the Afghanistan skipper consistently makes the database of apical players astatine the extremity of immoderate tourney helium participates in. Rashid, who volition crook 27 during the Asia Cup, has astir 10 years of T20 planetary acquisition and is not acrophobic of utilizing it arsenic some an all-rounder and a leader.
• Hasan Nawaz (Pakistan): Pakistan person often been criticised for their batters’ inability to lucifer modern-day T20 batting onslaught rates, but successful Nawaz, they look to person recovered a solution to this problem. The 23-year-old has a onslaught complaint of 174, with a T20 100 and 2 fifties successful his 16 matches.
• Pathum Nissanka (Sri Lanka): If Sri Lanka are to lucifer India and triumph a record-equalling seventh Asia Cup crown, their top-order batters volition request to people consistently. Nissanka could beryllium to beryllium conscionable the subordinate to bash it arsenic helium enters the tourney successful fantabulous run-scoring signifier arsenic an opener. He has scored 30 oregon much runs successful 8 of his past 10 T20 innings, including 3 fifties.
• Taskin Ahmed (Bangladesh): The right-arm pacer is simply a mainstay of the Bangladesh side, acknowledgment to his cross-format consistency. He is simply a standout performer successful T20s, though, with a bowling onslaught complaint of 17.5 and an mean of 22. Taskin comes into the tourney connected the backmost of a mates of bully location bid against Pakistan and the Netherlands.

Which apical players volition miss the Asia Cup?

Some of the biggest names successful Asian cricket volition beryllium absent from the tournament. These are:

• • Babar Azam (Pakistan)
  • Muhammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
  • Mehidy Hasan Miraz (Bangladesh)
  • Rishabh Pant (India)
  • Mohammed Siraj (India)
  • Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka)

Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan was the apical run-scorer astatine the Asia Cup 2022 successful the UAE [File: Satish Kumar/Reuters]

What’s the history, and who are the past winners of the Asia Cup?

The ACC was formed successful 1983 with the purpose of expanding cricket successful the continent and bringing the determination teams unneurotic done tournaments specified arsenic the Asia Cup. The archetypal variation was held successful 1984 successful the UAE, wherever India emerged victorious up of Sri Lanka and Pakistan successful the ODI tournament.

The tourney remained biennial until 1990, erstwhile Pakistan pulled retired implicit the fractious quality of its narration with India implicit the struggle successful Kashmir. Politics continued to find its mode into sport, and the consequent Asia Cup, successful 1993, was called disconnected arsenic the South Asian giants were incapable to mend their ties. While India travelled to Pakistan for the 2008 edition, the UAE has hosted the tourney doubly successful the past 3 editions arsenic a neutral host.

Holders India are the astir palmy team, having won the rubric connected 8 occasions. Sri Lanka are not acold behind, with six titles to their name.

Afghanistan and Bangladesh person ne'er won the title, but with Sri Lanka and two-time winners Pakistan struggling successful 2025, this tourney whitethorn correspond their best-ever accidental to triumph an Asia Cup crown.

Here’s the implicit database of past champions:

• 1984: India
• 1986: Sri Lanka
• 1988: India
• 1990–91: India
• 1995: India
• 1997: Sri Lanka
• 2000: Pakistan
• 2004: Sri Lanka
• 2008: Sri Lanka
• 2010: India
• 2012: Pakistan
• 2014: Sri Lanka
• 2016: India
• 2018: India
• 2022: Sri Lanka
• 2023: India

India bushed Sri Lanka by 10 wickets to triumph the Asia Cup 2023 successful Colombo [File: Eranga Jayawardena/AP Photo]

How tin fans bargain tickets for the Asia Cup?

Tickets tin beryllium bought online oregon successful idiosyncratic astatine 1 of the booths astatine some venues successful the UAE.

How to travel and watercourse the Asia Cup live?

Al Jazeera volition supply live substance and photograph commentary of a enactment of games, including India vs Pakistan and the final.