Why is the Asia Cup needed for Pakistan Cricket to survive?

The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) released the schedule for the 2025 edition of the tournament, ending weeks of uncertainty over the continental competition's fate. The marquee event, set to be played as T20Is, precedes the World Cup of the same format, slated to be hosted by India and Sri Lanka during the first quarter of 2026. Originally planned to be organised in India, the Asia Cup 2025 shall now be played in the Gulf region of the UAE, in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Eight teams have been split into two groups of four, with arch-rivals India and Pakistan, notably, in the same pool. After the group fixtures, the international tournament will enter its 'Super-4s' stage, where the top two seeded teams from each pool contest against each other for a spot in the final, making it a quadrangular series. The competition commencing from Tuesday, 9th September, will witness its first round of an India-Pakistan clash on Sunday, 14th September. The neighbours are favourable to lock horns again, in the next round, on 21st September. The other teams contesting for the pinnacle of Asian Cricket are Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, UAE, Oman, and Hong Kong.

The lead-up to these announcements has been marred by immense controversies and geopolitical tensions. With the military stand-off between India and Pakistan occurring not too long ago, and the subsequent 'Operation Sindoor' by our Armed Forces, it was almost certain that the cricketing ties between the two nations might halt on an indefinite basis. They, anyway, have not played bilaterally on each other's soil since 2012, and the war against terrorism meant a sure stoppage of any match between them, even at a neutral venue in a multilateral competition. Secondly, the ever-growing scuffle at the eastern border between India and Bangladesh added an extra edge towards the cancellation of the tournament. This was evident when Mohsin Naqvi, the chairman of the ACC, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), and their interior minister, scheduled an Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Dhaka for the upcoming tournament against the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) wishes. The Indian cricketing officials were unwilling to travel there due to the strained political ties at the eastern front. They, however, attended it virtually, with the BCCI Vice President, Rajiv Shukla, logging in. It is worth knowing that the BCCI still holds the hosting rights for this year's competition.  

See Also: Can government cancel India vs Pakistan clash at Asia Cup?

Rest assured, after a stand-off and several deliberations, the Asia Cup 2025 is on course to be staged. Following that ceasefire in May, and as time passed, the previously agreed-upon understanding of India-Pakistan contests in multi-national tournaments was back on the table. Pakistan will be playing their matches of the upcoming women's World Cup to be hosted by India in Colombo. For the Asian Championship, the competition, in its current form, has been given the clearance by the BJP-led government and is confirmed to go ahead in the UAE. To remain commercially attractive, retaining its structure for a potential India-Pakistan game, on three occasions, including the final, is an absolute imperative. The revenue generated from the men's tournament might be insignificant for the well-off BCCI, but it matters quite a lot to all the other ACC member boards. Despite its relocation, the Indian board will retain gate receipts as the designated hosts.

The decision to proceed with the biennial event reflects cricket's commercial realities. Media rights for four Asia Cup editions (2024-31) are valued at approximately $170 million, mainly from the Indian market. A withdrawal from the 'Men in Blue' would have severely impacted the PCB and other Asian nations financially, as the fixtures between the neighbours drive the tournament's economic appeal. Given cricket's enormous financial stakes, both the Indian and Pakistani boards now view playing each other in neutral venues as the middle ground and the most pragmatic solution in the current scenario, since they have refused to travel to each other's countries, at least until 2027-28. 

The Asia Cups: Pakistan Cricket's need for survival -

India's boycott of Pakistan’s cricket team would sum up to a complete nightmare for broadcasters as a match between the two South Asian countries brings in phenomenal viewership due to the fierce historic rivalry between them. Data from the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) estimates that the matches between them have generated a whopping $1.3 billion in the last 20 years, which is significantly higher than matches between other teams. Eliminating India-Pakistan games will impact the International Cricket Council's (ICC) and ACC's revenue, specifically considering the broadcasters' demand for both teams to be grouped in global and Asian events. Moreover, the boycott would also significantly slump PCB's economy, which is heavily dependent on the ICC and ACC funding. They expect to earn approximately $31 million this year, as revenue share, from the two cricket bodies. This underlines the fact that the money from these two major sources is extremely integral for the financial health of Pakistan Cricket. PCB claims that their total revenue for the 2023-24 fiscal year reached $35.3 million, a 40 percent increase from the previous year, and thus ranking them among the top three cricket boards in the world. 

ACC's 'Cricket First' mantra reaffirms its commitment to using cricket as a platform for spreading peace in the region. It says, "When crowds gather to witness the tournament's unforgettable clashes, it will be a great reminder of cricket's power to build bridges". On that note, the Asia Cup 2025, amid all its intricacies and uncertainties, promises to deliver quality cricket content among the avid supporters of the game.