Asia Cup Venue Changed As Officials Hope To Avoid Cancellation: Report – News18

The Asian Cricket Council (ACC), chaired by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi, has reportedly moved the 2025 men’s Asia Cup to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), despite India being the official host. Clouds still remain over whether the competition will be played at all, in light of the tensions between the two biggest participant nations, India and Pakistan, but officials hope a change in venue will help.
According to Forbes, a final decision is expected at the ICC’s Annual General Meeting in Singapore next month. But for now, it seems to be decided that the UAE will host the tournament if it goes ahead. It has beaten competition from Sri Lanka, the host of the last edition in 2023, which was also in strong running.
India and Pakistan had already reached an arrangement before the 2025 Champions Trophy, where all of their multi-national tournament matches for the foreseeable future will be held in neutral venues. The Asia Cup was put under further doubt after the Pahalgam terrorist attack, which took the lives of 26 innocents in Kashmir, and led to retaliatory action from India, bringing it on the brink of a war with Pakistan.
Several reports in India have claimed that the tournament won’t go ahead, but stakeholders remain cautiously optimistic.
“Things have been quiet amid the tension, and there is much to play out, but there is still time," Forbes cited an official close to discussions as saying.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia has also denied rumors of India’s ‘opting out’ of the tournament.
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“Such news is devoid of any truth as till now, BCCI has not even discussed or taken any such steps regarding the ensuing ACC events, let alone writing anything to the ACC (Asian Cricket Council). At this stage, our prime focus is on the ongoing IPL and subsequent England series, both men and women," Saikia said, as quoted by Sportstar.
The UAE has been a backup neutral venue of several such emergency scenarios, including the Champions Trophy’s India matches and some IPL editions. The Cup, if it goes ahead, will be played in the T20 format as preparations for next year’s T20 World Cup.
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