The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has refused to participate in the impending Asia Cup. This competition is generally held every two years and excites cricket fans with its famous fixtures like India vs Pakistan. `Express Sports writes that India might skip this one due to ongoing tensions with Pakistan.`
neighboring country with neighboring tensions, which were further upgraded with Pakistan getting implicated in the Pahalgam terror attack and India inching ahead with aerial strikes under Operation Sindoor; to keep the dramas going, Pakistan’s interior minister Mohsin Naqvi is currently heading the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), and BCCI is seemingly not sitting well with this arrangement and intends to withdraw from the Asia Cup. They have informed the ACC about their decision to opt out.
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This year, India was supposed to be the host of the Asia Cup in the T20 format so that it could be aligned with the T20 World Cup taking place next year. During the last edition held in 2023, India emerged as champions against Sri Lanka. Most of the sponsors of the Asia Cup are from India, so by not taking part in the tournament, BCCI’s decision may bode for outright cancellation of the tournament. Besides India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh were expected to be in the fray.
In the last edition, although Pakistan was the host of the Asia Cup, since India abstained from sending its team there, they played their matches in the Hybrid Model, with all of India’s games including the finals having been held in Sri Lanka. The ICC Champions Trophy just this year also followed the Hybrid Model, with India playing their matches in Dubai
