Asia Cup 2025

Background

The dates for the tournament were released in July 2024, with India initially set to act as host. However, following the Pahalgam attack in early 2025 and the subsequent escalation of political crisis and military conflict between India and Pakistan, concerns arose over the feasibility of hosting matches involving both nations in India. In July 2025, during the Asian Cricket Council's annual meeting in Dhaka, ACC chairman Mohsin Naqvi announced that the tournament would instead be held in the United Arab Emirates, with matches staged in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The UAE was selected as a neutral venue due to its prior experience hosting high-profile multinational cricket tournaments under similar circumstances.

Format

The tournament was played with eight teams split into two groups of four. The top two teams from each group advanced to a single-group Super Four stage, and the top two teams from this stage contested the final.

Teams and qualification

The five full members of the Asian Cricket Council qualified automatically for the tournament. The United Arab Emirates, Oman and Hong Kong qualified following their top-three finish at the 2024 ACC Premier Cup.

Squads

On 9 September, Janith Liyanage was added to the Sri Lanka squad. On 15 September, Naveen-ul-Haq was ruled out of the tournament due to a shoulder injury, and was replaced by Abdullah Ahmadzai.

Venues

The ACC announced the venues of the tournament on 2 August 2025.

Match officials

International Cricket Council (ICC) and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) jointly appointed the following match officials for the tournament.

Match referees

Andy Pycroft , Richie Richardson

Umpires

Izatullah Safi , Ahmed Shah Pakteen , Masudur Rahman , Gazi Sohel , Rohan Pandit , Virender Sharma , Faisal Afridi , Asif Yaqoob , Raveendra Wimalasiri , Ruchira Palliyaguruge

Tour matches

Hong Kong and Oman played each other in 2 unofficial 20-over matches prior to the Asia Cup.

Group stage

The ACC released the full fixtures of the tournament on 26 July 2025.

Group A

India won the toss and elected to field. Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat. , This was the first time Oman and Pakistan faced each other in T20Is. , Shah Faisal and Zikria Islam (Oma) both made their T20I debuts. Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat. Oman won the toss and elected to field. , Aryan Bisht (Oma) made his T20I debut. , It was the 100th T20I match for Oman. , Muhammad Waseem (UAE) scored his 3,000th run in T20Is. , India qualified for the Super Four while Oman were eliminated as a result of this match. United Arab Emirates won the toss and elected to field. , The match was delayed by an hour due to PCB's protest over the India–Pakistan handshake controversy involving match referee Andy Pycroft. , Pakistan qualified for the Super Four while United Arab Emirates were eliminated as a result of this match. India won the toss and elected to bat. , This was the first time India and Oman faced each other in T20Is. , It was the 250th T20I match for India. , Arshdeep Singh became the first Indian bowler to take 100 wickets in T20Is.

Group B

Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat. , Azmatullah Omarzai (Afg) recorded the fastest half-century (20 balls) for Afghanistan. Bangladesh won the toss and elected to field. , Rishad Hossain (Ban) and Ayush Shukla (HK) both took their 50th wicket in T20Is. , Litton Das hit his 78th six in T20Is, the most for Bangladesh, surpassing Mahmudullah. , Hong Kong were eliminated as a result of this match. Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field. , Pathum Nissanka (SL) scored his 2,000th run in T20Is. Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field. , This was the first time Hong Kong and Sri Lanka faced each other in any format in international cricket. Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat. , It was the 200th T20I match for Bangladesh. Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat. , Mohammad Nabi equalled Azmatullah Omarzai's record for the fastest half-century (20 balls) for Afghanistan. , Bangladesh and Sri Lanka qualified for the Super Four while Afghanistan were eliminated as a result of this match.

Super Four

Bangladesh won the toss and elected to field. , Towhid Hridoy (Ban) played in his 50th T20I match, and scored his 1,000th run in T20Is. , Litton Das surpassed Shakib Al Hasan's 2551 runs and became the highest run scorer for Bangladesh in T20Is. , Kusal Mendis surpassed Kumar Sangakkara's 45 dismissals and has recorded the most number of dismissals for Sri Lanka in T20Is. India won the toss and elected to field. Pakistan won the toss and elected to field. Bangladesh won the toss and elected to field. , Jaker Ali captained Bangladesh for the first time in T20Is. , Mustafizur Rahman (Ban) took his 150th wicket in T20Is and surpassed Shakib Al Hasan's 149 wickets to become the highest wicket-taker for Bangladesh in T20Is. , India qualified for the final while Sri Lanka were eliminated as a result of this match. Bangladesh won the toss and elected to field. , Taskin Ahmed (Ban) took his 100th wicket in T20Is. , Pakistan qualified for the final while Bangladesh were eliminated as a result of this match. Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field. , Pathum Nissanka (SL) scored his maiden century in T20Is. , Super Over: Sri Lanka 2/2, India 3/0

Final

India won the toss and elected to field. , Faheem Ashraf (Pak) took his 50th wicket in T20Is.

Controversies

The tournament witnessed a series of controversies involving arch rivals India and Pakistan, who participated in the backdrop of the 2025 India–Pakistan conflict. Ahead of a group stage match, the tournament organizers mistakenly played a few seconds of "Jalebi Baby" instead of Pakistan's national anthem, prompting criticism from the Pakistani audience.

Handshake-gate

The tournament was noted for a controversy dubbed “handshake-gate,” which arose during the coin toss of the group-stage match between India and Pakistan, when both captains refrained from shaking hands, reportedly on the advice of match referee Andy Pycroft. Following the conclusion of the match, the Indian players left the field without exchanging handshakes with the Pakistani team. A similar situation occurred during the Super Four match and the final match. After the incident during group stage match with India, Pakistan's head coach Mike Hesson expressed disappointment, while the PCB lodged a formal protest against Pycroft and later suspended its operations director Usman Wahla over the handling of the episode. PCB's demand for the removal of Pycroft from the remainder of the tournament was rejected by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The subsequent group stage match between Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates was delayed by an hour amid uncertainty over Pakistan's further participation in the tournament, but eventually went ahead after the PCB claimed that Pycroft had apologised for the "miscommunication", while the ICC confirmed he would continue as match referee.

Breach of ICC Code of Conduct and Disciplinary hearings

The BCCI lodged a complaint with the ICC against Pakistani players Haris Rauf and Sahibzada Farhan for their "provocative" gestures during the Super Four match between India and Pakistan. While fielding near the boundary, Rauf made a "jet crashing" gesture and a "6-0" finger sign, interpreted as a symbolic reference to Pakistan's claim of shooting down six Indian aircraft during Operation Sindoor. A video published by NDTV showed that Rauf repeated the same gesture after taking a wicket, indicating his actions were not limited to a single incident. Earlier in the same match, Farhan celebrated his half-century by mimicking firing a rifle with his bat, which was described as provocative and insensitive by the Indian media. The PCB also registered a complaint against India captain Suryakumar Yadav, who expressed solidarity with the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and dedicated his team's win to the Indian Army, which the PCB alleged were "political statements". Following disciplinary hearings conducted by members of the ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, Suryakumar Yadav was found guilty of breaching Article 2.21 (conduct that brings the game into disrepute) and was fined 30 per cent of his match fee and given two demerit points. Sahibzada Farhan was found guilty of the same offence and was issued an official warning with one demerit point. Haris Rauf was found guilty of the same offence and was fined 30 per cent of his match fee and given two demerit points. Rauf was later found guilty of a further breach in the final on 28 September and received two additional demerit points. Because he accumulated four demerit points within a 24-month period this converted to two suspension points under the ICC framework, resulting in a two-match ban that ruled him out of Pakistan's ODIs against South Africa on 4 and 6 November 2025. In other incidents during the tournament Jasprit Bumrah received an official warning and one demerit point under Article 2.21, while Arshdeep Singh was cleared of an alleged breach of Article 2.6 (use of obscene or offensive gestures), and therefore no sanction was imposed on him.

Presentation ceremony controversy

After India defeated Pakistan in the final, the presentation ceremony was delayed by more than an hour as the Pakistani team arrived late, and India refused to accept the winners' trophy and medals from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Mohsin Naqvi, who is also Pakistan's Interior Minister and Chairman of the PCB. When Pakistani captain Salman Ali Agha was presented with the runners-up cheque of US$75,000 by Aminul Islam of the ACC, he flung it to the ground almost instantly, attracting both loud cheers and boos from the crowd still present in the stands. Despite the Indian team's objection, Naqvi insisted on presenting the trophy and medals to them himself, resulting in an impasse. India were not awarded the trophy and medals during the ceremony, and Naqvi reportedly left the stadium with the trophy. Following this, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav celebrated the Indian victory by hoisting an 'imaginary trophy' with his team. Later he criticised the handling of the ceremony and said his team had been "denied" the opportunity to lift the trophy. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia described Naqvi's act of "taking away" the trophy and medals as "unsporting", and announced that the BCCI would protest his actions at the ICC conference in November. On 1 October, three days after the final, Naqvi reiterated his refusal to give the trophy to India unless the team personally collected it from him at the ACC head office in Dubai.