The cricket rivalry between India and Pakistan is set to resume later this year in September after the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) accepted the 2025 Asia Cup schedule last week.
On September 14, the two teams will play each other in the Group A match; if they get to the final, they might face each other twice more during the tournament. However, the announcement sparked a flurry of protests on social media, and the Indian sports ministry left it up to the BCCI to decide.
The public outcry was triggered by the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, which killed 26 civilians. Following the incident, there was a military conflict between the two nations, during which India conducted Operation Sindoor.
The Asia Cup was on the verge of being canceled after the Pahalgam incident, when the BCCI postponed confirming India’s participation while the body awaited approval from the Indian government. When PCB chairman and head of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), Mohsin Naqvi, revealed the tournament schedule last week, all the doubts were finally dispelled.
“As of now, the BCCI does not come under the purview of the sports ministry as the National Sports Governance Bill is still to be passed. So, the ministry doesn’t have a say, but we will wait and see how the BCCI responds to public sentiment,” a sports ministry source told PTI.
The match versus Pakistan could be forfeited by India. But doing so would cost the Suryakumar Yadav-led team points since, according to tournament regulations, a forfeit would be regarded as a walkover, giving Pakistan the allotted points.
Following backlash from supporters, the India Champions team, led by Yuvraj Singh, declined to play Pakistan in Birmingham earlier this month during the second season of the World Championship of Legends for the same reason. Following the decision to cancel the game, the WCL officials apologized to the Indian players for “unintentionally causing discomfort.”
