Published: May 19, 2025, 05:29 PM (IST)
Edited: May 19, 2025, 05:29 PM (IST)
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said that no decisions have been made on any level as to India’s involvement in future Asian Cricket Council (ACC) tournaments. He said that any news suggesting otherwise are purely speculative and imaginative.
This statement comes in response to multiple reports on Monday claiming that the BCCI had informed the ACC of its decision to withdraw from both the Women’s Emerging Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and the Men’s Asia Cup, scheduled for June and September respectively, citing ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan.
“Since this morning, it has come to our notice about some news items about BCCI’s decision not to participate in Asia Cup and Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup, both ACC’s events. Such news is devoid of any truth as till now, BCCI has not even discussed or taken any such steps regarding the ensuing ACC events, let alone writing anything to the ACC. At this stage, our prime focus is on the ongoing IPL and subsequent England series, both men and women.” said Saikia in a statement issued to IANS.
“The Asia Cup matter or any other ACC event issue has not come up for discussion at any level, hence any news or report on that is purely speculative and imaginary. It may be said that BCCI, as and when any discussion on any ACC events takes place and any important decision is reached, same will be announced through media,” Saikia added
India holds the hosting rights for the Men’s Asia Cup, which is scheduled to take place in T20 format this September. In addition to India and Pakistan, the tournament will also include Bangladesh, the UAE, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, and Oman.
India is the defending champion of the Men’s Asia Cup, having triumphed over Sri Lanka in the final of the 2023 tournament, which was conducted in a 50-over format in Colombo. This event was also influenced by ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan. Initially, the 2023 Men’s Asia Cup was supposed to be fully hosted by Pakistan, but due to India’s refusal to travel there, all matches were relocated to Sri Lanka under a hybrid model.
A similar hybrid approach was adopted for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, which was planned to take place entirely in Pakistan. However, India’s insistence on a hybrid model resulted in all its matches being held in Dubai. While Pakistan was eliminated in the group stage, India ultimately secured the trophy in Dubai on March 9.
