India to Participate in Asia Cup 2025, No Bilateral Matches with Pakistan: Sports Ministry

India and Pakistan won’t be playing any direct sports events against each other, but the Indian cricket team will still participate in the upcoming Asia Cup, which features multiple countries. A source from the Sports Ministry confirmed this news on Thursday. The Indian government has maintained its policy of not engaging in one-on-one sports events with Pakistan. On August 21, the Ministry also made it clear that Indian teams won’t travel to Pakistan, nor will they host Pakistani teams for any bilateral series.

However, this rule doesn’t apply to larger tournaments like the World Cups or the Olympics, where both India and Pakistan compete under the supervision of international governing bodies. These events take place at neutral venues, which means there are no direct matchups between the two countries ensuring that the competition remains free from political influence.

A source from the ministry confirmed to PTI that India won’t be stopped from playing Pakistan in the Asia Cup, which is organized by the Asian Cricket Council. The tournament will feature exciting India-Pakistan matches on September 14 and possibly 21 in Dubai, with the final set for September 29. It will be played in the T20 format, leading up to next year's T20 World Cup. India and Pakistan haven’t played each other in bilateral cricket since the 2012–13 season meeting only in multi-nation tournaments and multi-sport events since then.

"In so far as bilateral sports events in each other's country are concerned, Indian teams will not be participating in competitions in Pakistan. Nor will we permit Pakistani teams to play in India": Ministry of Youth and Affairs, Govt of India.

🚨 INDIAN GOVERNMENT DECISION ON PLAYING CRICKET WITH PAKISTAN 🚨 pic.twitter.com/vITvPZm9SR

— Tanuj (@ImTanujSingh) August 21, 2025

India had previously refused to travel to Pakistan for the 2023 Asia Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy due to security concerns leading both tournaments to be moved to neutral venues. Recently, Pakistan’s hockey team also decided against traveling to India for the Asia Cup Hockey, which is set to start on September 28 in Rajgir. In light of rising tensions between the two countries after the Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 people, mostly tourists several former cricketers have called for India to boycott their Asia Cup match against Pakistan. Following the attack, India launched Operation Sindoor to target terror networks across the border.

The policy also emphasizes India’s growing reputation as a reliable host for international sports and promises to make visa procedures easier for athletes, team officials, technical staff, and leaders of international sports organizations.

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