Among the flurry of T20 leagues, the Asia Cup will take centre stage in September 2025. The continental tournament returns for its 17th edition.
This time around, we’ll see teams compete for the Asia Cup in the T20I format. This will help teams prepare for the T20 World Cup scheduled for next year.
As multi-team tournaments deliver thrillers, expect the same from the Asia Cup 2025. And with the shortest format in place, teams can topple each other within minutes.
So, when does the Asia Cup 2025 start?
The Asia Cup 2025 gets off the ground on September 9. Afghanistan will square off against Hong Kong in the curtain raiser. Abu Dhabi will host the match starting at 7:30 PM IST.
Okay, how many teams will participate in Asia Cup 2025?
The ACC has expanded the Asia Cup 2025. It will now accommodate eight teams, two more than the 2023 edition.
India qualified by virtue of being the hosts. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka gained direct entry, thanks to being ACC’s full members.
The other three teams – Hong Kong, Oman, and the UAE – made it through the ACC Men’s Premier Cup 2024.
So, all teams will face each other?
Not really. Teams have been put into two groups. So each group features four teams.
Here are the groups for the Asia Cup 2025:
| Group A | Group B |
|---|---|
| India | Afghanistan |
| Oman | Bangladesh |
| Pakistan | Hong Kong |
| UAE | Sri Lanka |
What’s the format of Asia Cup 2025?
With two groups in place, each team will lock horns against their three group opponents once. After the group stage is over, the Super Four round will commence.
The Super Four comprises four teams – the top two from both groups. These teams will meet once to decide the two finalists. And then the finalists will contest for the title.
How many matches will take place in Asia Cup 2025?
The Asia Cup 2025 will see a total of 19 matches. Twelve of them are part of the group stage, while six form the Super Four stage. And the remaining one is the final, scheduled on September 28.
Where will the matches take place?
While India are the official hosts, the Asia Cup 2025 will take place in the UAE. So two venues from the UAE will stage the matches.
Here are the venues:
Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
What’s the complete schedule for Asia Cup 2025?
Here is the full schedule for the Asia Cup 2025.
| Date | Match | Venue | Time (Local / IST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Sep | Afghanistan vs Hong Kong | Abu Dhabi | 6:00 PM / 7:30 PM |
| 10 Sep | India vs United Arab Emirates | Dubai | 6:00 PM / 7:30 PM |
| 11 Sep | Bangladesh vs Hong Kong | Abu Dhabi | 6:00 PM / 7:30 PM |
| 12 Sep | Pakistan vs Oman | Dubai | 6:00 PM / 7:30 PM |
| 13 Sep | Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka | Abu Dhabi | 6:00 PM / 7:30 PM |
| 14 Sep | India vs Pakistan | Dubai | 6:00 PM / 7:30 PM |
| 15 Sep | United Arab Emirates vs Oman | Abu Dhabi | 4:00 PM / 5:30 PM |
| 15 Sep | Sri Lanka vs Hong Kong | Dubai | 6:00 PM / 7:30 PM |
| 16 Sep | Bangladesh vs Afghanistan | Abu Dhabi | 6:00 PM / 7:30 PM |
| 17 Sep | Pakistan vs United Arab Emirates | Dubai | 6:00 PM / 7:30 PM |
| 18 Sep | Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan | Abu Dhabi | 6:00 PM / 7:30 PM |
| 19 Sep | India vs Oman | Abu Dhabi | 6:00 PM / 7:30 PM |
| 20 Sep | Super Four – Match 1 (B1 v B2) | Dubai | 6:00 PM / 7:30 PM |
| 21 Sep | Super Four – Match 2 (A1 v A2) | Dubai | 6:00 PM / 7:30 PM |
| 23 Sep | Super Four – Match 3 (A2 v B1) | Abu Dhabi | 6:00 PM / 7:30 PM |
| 24 Sep | Super Four – Match 4 (A1 v B2) | Dubai | 6:00 PM / 7:30 PM |
| 25 Sep | Super Four – Match 5 (A2 v B2) | Dubai | 6:00 PM / 7:30 PM |
| 26 Sep | Super Four – Match 6 (A1 v B1) | Dubai | 6:00 PM / 7:30 PM |
| 28 Sep | Final | Dubai | 6:00 PM / 7:30 PM |
What are the squads of all teams in Asia Cup 2025?
Afghanistan: Rashid Khan (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Darwish Rasooli, Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mohammad Ishaq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, AM Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Reserves: Wafiullah Tarakhil, Nangeyalia Kharote, Abdullah Ahmadzai
Bangladesh: Litton Das (c & wk), Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Saif Hassan, Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali, Shamim Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mohammad Saifuddin. Reserves: Soumya Sarkar, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Tanvir Islam, Hasan Mahmud
Hong Kong: Yasim Murtaza (c), Babar Hayat, Zeeshan Ali, Niazakat Khan Mohammad, Nasrulla Rana, Martin Coetzee, Anshuman Rath, Kalhan Marc Challu, Ayush Ashish Shukla, Mohammad Aizaz Khan, Ateeq ul Rehman Iqbal, Kinchit Shah, Adil Mehmood, Haroon Mohammad Arshad, Ali Hassan, Shahid Wasif, Ghazanfar Mohammad, Mohammad Waheed, Anas Khan, Ehsan Khan
India: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson. Reserves: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal
Oman: Jatinder Singh (c), Hammad Mirza, Vinayak Shukla, Sufyan Yousuf, Ashish Odedara, Aamir Kaleem, Mohammed Nadeem, Sufyan Mehmood, Aryan Bisht, Karan Sonavale, Zikriya Islam, Hassnain Shah, Faisal Shah, Muhammed Imran, Nadeem Khan, Shakeel Ahmed, Samay Shrivastava.
Pakistan: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Waseem Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Afridi, Sufyan Moqim.
Sri Lanka: Charith Asalanka (c), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Nuwanidu Fernando, Kamindu Mendis, Kamil Mishara, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Binura Fernando, Nuwan Thushara, Matheesha Pathirana
United Arab Emirates: Muhammad Waseem (c), Alishan Sharafu, Aryansh Sharma (wk), Asif Khan, Dhruv Parashar, Ethan D’Souza, Haider Ali, Harshit Kaushik, Junaid Siddique, Matiullah Khan, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Zohaib, Rahul Chopra (wk), Rohid Khan, Simranjeet Singh, Saghir Khan
And finally, where to watch Asia Cup 2025?
ACC has roped in Sony Sports Network as the official broadcast partner for the Asia Cup 2025.
So if you are in India, you can watch the matches live on Sony Sports TV channels. The continental championship will also be available for live streaming on the Sony Liv app and website.
Read Next | Australia’s Schedule for 2025-26 Home Season
