Teams are finalising their squads as the Asia Cup 2025 draws near, with the competition scheduled to start on September 9 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The lineups for India and Pakistan have already been revealed, and both teams are missing a number of well-known players. Ahead of the continental match, fans and analysts are debating the team’s balance and tactics in light of the early squad announcements.
This edition is made more appealing by an oddity in Asia Cup history.
India and Pakistan are bitter rivals in world cricket, yet they have never met in an Asia Cup final. The bitter rivals have not yet faced each other in the summit match in the tournament’s 41-year existence, which has seen 16 finals.
India has advanced to the Asia Cup final a record 11 times since its inception in 1984. They have faced Bangladesh twice and Sri Lanka nine times, but never Pakistan. In contrast, Pakistan has advanced to five finals, facing Bangladesh once and Sri Lanka four times.
In total, 18 Asia Cup meetings between India and Pakistan have taken place in both ODI and T20 formats. Ten of these matches have been won by India, six by Pakistan, and two have ended in draws. Their most recent meeting took place at the 2023 Asia Cup, where India, under the leadership of Rohit Sharma, defeated Pakistan by an unprecedented 228 runs, the fourth-largest margin of victory in Asia Cup history.
In anticipation of the forthcoming T20 World Cup, which India and Sri Lanka will co-host, the eight nations have been divided into two groups for the 2025 edition, and the competition will be contested in T20 format. While Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Hong Kong are in Group B, India, Pakistan, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates are in Group A.
The highly awaited match between the bitter rivals is scheduled for September 14 in Dubai, while India will kick off their campaign against the hosts, the United Arab Emirates, on September 10. Each group’s top two teams will move on to the Super Four stage, where they will face one another once using the same format. The final, which is scheduled for September 28 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, will then pit the top two teams from the Super Four against one another.
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