Former Pakistani cricketer Danish Kaneria criticised India’s stance of playing against Pakistan in Asia Cup 2025. He questioned why the team is prepared to face Pakistan in the Asia Cup when they just declined playing against them in the World Championship of Legends (WCL).
“Indian players boycotted WCL and called it a national duty. But now Asia Cup vs Pakistan is just fine? If cricket with Pakistan is okay, then WCL should’ve been too. Stop using patriotism when it suits you. Let sport be sport, not propaganda,” Kaneria wrote on X (formerly Twitter)
According to the schedule announced, the Asia Cup is all set to start from September 9, 2025 with the first match to be played between Hong Kong and Afghanistan. All the Asia Cup 2025 matches will be held in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and India will be playing their first match on September 10. The match between arch-rivals India-Pakistan will be played on September 14.
The two nations are in Group A together with the UAE and Oman. If they follow good form, a second confrontation is imminent on Sunday, September 21, in the Super Four phase. There is also a likelihood of a third encounter in the final of the tournament if both teams make it that far, meaning supporters could see three India-Pakistan encounters in under three weeks. Interestingly, even with so much history between them, the two nations have never met in the final of this continental event.
