India to host the 2025 edition of the Asia Cup; tournament to be held in T20 format
India will play host to the next edition of the Asia Cup in 2025, marking the first time the tournament will be conducted in the peninsula since 1990. The competition is set to be held in the T20 format as it will prove to be a precursor to the 2026 T20 World Cup, set to be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
The confirmation of India as hosts came through the Asian Cricket Council's (ACC) release of an Invitation for Expression of Interest (IEOI) on Saturday, July 27. The interested parties could submit the documents to express a bid to host the tournament during the 2024-2027 cycle.
The 2027 edition, on the other hand, will switch back to the ODI format, keeping the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa in mind. The tournament will be hosted by Bangladesh. The subcontinent nation had last hosted the tournament in 2016 ahead of the T20 World Cup.
"The details, including but not limited to the schedules, dates, years, formats and/or venues, regarding the ACC Tournaments given below are tentative and may be subject to change at anytime at the absolute discretion of ACC and without any liability to ACC," the document mentions.
The tournament is expected to remain a six-team affair like before, with India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan securing automatic qualification into the group stages. The sixth and final team will be determined through the qualifying event, ACC's Men's Premier Cup.
The 2025 edition will mark yet another tournament where Pakistan will have to travel to India to compete. In the recent past, the Men in Green have had to cross the border to play the 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2023 ODI World Cup.
Pakistan were slated to be the sole host of the 2023 Asia Cup, but a hybrid model was imposed due to India's reluctance to travel to Pakistan.
Team India are the defending Asia Cup champions
The Men in Blue won the 2023 edition of the tournament in Sri Lanka, extending their record to eight title wins, and their third across the last four editions.
India played all of their matches in Sri Lanka, including the final as per the hybrid model. The Rohit Sharma-led side secured the title most dominantly by bundling out Sri Lanka for a mere 50 runs and winning by 10 wickets.