India is set to host the next edition of the Men's Asia Cup in 2025 in the T20 format, as a dress rehearsal for the 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) confirmed the development in its Invitation for Expression of Interest (IEOI) while mentioning that Bangladesh will host the 2027 edition of the Asia Cup in the 50-over format with the ODI World Cup to follow later that year in South Africa and Namibia.
India will be hosting a men's Asia Cup tournament for the first time since 1991, after a long gap of 34 years. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have hosted the majority of the editions of the continental event given the diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan.
Pakistan was the host of the men's Asia Cup last year but since India didn't travel to the country, the remaining matches took place in Sri Lanka as part of the hybrid model.
"Men's Asia Cup Tournament' means the biennial senior men's cricket tournament organised and administered by the ACC involving designated Members, and shall include participation by the teams from Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and one Non-Test playing Member of ACC selected through qualifying events," the ACC stated in its IEOI statement as quoted by PTI.
The next two editions of the Asia Cup will feature six teams and 13 games each with the format too set to remain the same with a group stage, followed by Super Fours and then the final.
India won the ODI Asia Cup last year beating Sri Lanka in the final while Sri Lanka won the T20 version of the tournament in 2022 beating Pakistan in the final when the Men in Blue failed to make it to the summit clash. With the 2020 edition of the Asia Cup getting postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament took place in consecutive years in 2022 and 2023 but in different formats.
