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The Emirates Cricket Board(ECB) is confident that India will play Pakistan in the upcoming Asia Cup 2025. The mega event will start from September 9, with the final scheduled on September 28. India and Pakistan are part of the same group and will lock horns against each other on September 14, with a possibility of the teams facing off in the Super 4s stage and the final.
ECB Chief Operating Officer Subhan Ahmed believes that there is no chance that Asian giants will avoid each other in the Asia Cup. Recently, India Champions refused to feature against Pakistan in the league stage clash of the World Championship of Legends (WCL) and also pulled out from the semifinals of the mega event. However, Subhan said that WCL is a private tournament and cannot be compared to the Asia Cup.
“While I cannot give a formal guarantee, there is no risk of Pakistan and India not playing. The Asia Cup cannot be compared to private tournaments like the World Championship of Legends, where India refused to play against Pakistan in both the league stage and semi-final,” the ECB CEO said as quoted by Pakistan Observer.
The relationship between India and Pakistan worsened after the Pahalgam attack on April 22. There were growing demands from fans to not have any sporting relations with Pakistan in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor.
The Asia Cup is a rehearsal for the ICC World Cup, so the tournament will take place in T20 format because of next year's Twenty20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
India and Pakistan last faced each other in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 league stage, where the Rohit Sharma-led side defeated them by six wickets. If India plays against Pakistan, then this will be the first outing between the neighbouring nations after the Pahalgam terror attack.
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