The recent hostilities between India and Pakistan on the border areas are set to have a long and lasting impact on the cricketing relations between the two countries. While India and Pakistan were already against playing bilateral cricket, the worsened political relations between the two nations have jeopardized multi-team events between the two teams too. With a Pakistan minister heading the Asian Cricket Council – the body governing cricketing affairs in the continent – the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is planning to pull out of this year’s Asia Cup, in a bid to further isolate the neighbouring country.
The Asia Cup 2025 is scheduled to be held in India, but with a match against Pakistan all but out of the picture, the contest doesn’t hold much significance from a financial standpoint. While countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan also earn revenues from the tournament, the biggest attraction unarguably remains an India vs Pakistan clash.
However, considering the current political climate, the BCCI doesn’t seem to be keen on continuing with the Asia Cup plan. Such a scenario would hurt the financials of the Asian body, led by Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Naqvi assumed the role after Jay Shah, former secretary of the BCCI, vacated the role after being named the chairman of the International Cricket Council.
“The Indian team can’t play in a tournament that is organised by the ACC, whose chief is a Pakistani minister. That’s the sentiment of the nation. We have verbally communicated to ACC about our withdrawal from the upcoming Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup, and our future participation in their events too is on hold. We are in constant touch with the Indian government,” Indian Express quoted a BCCI source as saying.
With most of the sponsors for the Asia Cup coming from India, the current anti-Pakistan sentiment in the country makes it quite tricky for the BCCI to go ahead with the tournament’s plans.
In 2024, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) bought the media rights for the Asia Cup for a fee of 170 million US dollars. However, the deal would need to be reworked if the Asia Cup doesn’t happen this year.
The 2023 Asia Cup saw a hybrid model being adopted, with a part of the tournament taking place in Sri Lanka. India went on to clinch the title in Colombo while Pakistan failed to even qualify for the final.
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