Basit Ali Hopes Pakistan Doesn’t Face India in Asia Cup

Former Pakistan batsman Basit Ali has expressed that he doesn’t want Pakistan to face India in the upcoming Asia Cup 2025. If both teams reach the final, they could meet up to three times. Their first match is scheduled for September 14 in Dubai, with a possible second clash on September 21 at the same venue.

After Pakistan suffered a massive 202-run defeat against the West Indies in the third ODI earlier this week, Basit said he hoped the BCCI might avoid scheduling the India-Pakistan match, suggesting it could save Pakistan from another embarrassing loss on the field.

"I pray India refuse to play against Pakistan in the Asia Cup, just like how they did at the World Championships of Legends. Itni buri tarah maarenge na vo, ki aapki soch hai (They will beat us so badly you can't even imagine)," Basit said on The Game Plan YouTube channel.

Basit Ali on Pakistan-India Cricket Tensions and Asia Cup 2025

Basit also said that if Pakistan loses to India, it would cause a huge uproar across the country, because matches between the two teams always carry a lot of national pride. 

"If we lose to Afghanistan, no one would care much in this country. But everyone goes mad the moment you lose to India," he added.

India recently pulled out of two matches in the World Championship of Legends (WCL). Players like Shikhar Dhawan, Yuvraj Singh, and Irfan Pathan chose not to play against Pakistan, which sparked a lot of debate on social media. Soon after, the schedule for the Asia Cup 2025 was released, and India and Pakistan ended up in the same group.

India and Pakistan have been at loggerheads ever since the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam in April, in which 26 people, mostly civilians, were killed. As a result, the cricketing relations between the two countries have also nose-dived ever since.

India’s Group A Fixtures: Asia Cup 2025

Date	Opponent	Venue	Group
Sep 10	UAE	Dubai International Cricket Stadium	A
Sep 14	Pakistan	Dubai International Cricket Stadium	A
Sep 19	Oman	Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi	A

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