Asia Cup 2025: What Happens If India Refuses to Play Against Pakistan?

The Asia Cup 2025 has taken a dramatic turn as the BCCI faces a huge backlash from fans for agreeing to play Pakistan in the upcoming continental tournament. The 17th edition of the Asia Cup is scheduled to take place from September 9 to 28. Recently, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) released the schedule, placing India and Pakistan in the same group. Notably, the two neighboring countries are set to face each other on September 14, with a possibility of clashing up to three times in the tournament.

The recent tensions have fueled the online backlash against the Indo-Pak match. In April 2025, terrorists killed 26 civilians in Pahalgam, prompting the Indian government to ban all sorts of activities with Pakistan, including their artists and songs. Amid the high tensions, playing a cricket match against Pakistan is not being deemed appropriate by fans, and many are urging the Sports Ministry to intervene and pull out of the fixture.

As things stand, the match is still set to proceed as planned. However, this article explores what would happen if India refuses to play against Pakistan. Notably, the match won't be called off as it is governed by the ACC. If India pulls out of the Pakistan clash, it will be considered a forfeit. In the event of a forfeit, Pakistan will be awarded full points, and it will be treated as a win for the Mohammad Rizwan-led side. If India decides to pull out, they won't get any points and will face Oman and UAE for the rest of the games in their group.