India's match against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025 begins on September 9 in the UAE.
Mohsin Naqvi, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), announced the tournament dates earlier this week.
He shared the details during the ACC's annual general meeting in Dhaka on Thursday. The tournament will be played in the T20I format, similar to the T20 World Cup, and will include eight teams, which is two more than the previous edition.
Group A includes the host nation, the United Arab Emirates, along with India, Pakistan, and Oman.
Group B will feature Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, while Group C will consist of Afghanistan and Hong Kong. In the second stage of the tournament, the top two teams from each group will move on to a new four-team group, and the top two teams from that group will compete in the final on September 28.
The Asia Cup was a major topic at the ACC's annual general meeting in Dhaka.
After a military clash between India and Pakistan in May, there were concerns about the tournament's future. However, Naqvi discussed the decision to host the event in the UAE earlier this year. The tournament's location and dates were decided at the meeting.
India and Pakistan have a deal that allows them to play at a neutral venue if the tournament is held in either country.
This agreement was made before the Champions Trophy, which was held in Pakistan earlier this year. India played all its matches in Dubai during that event, including the one against Pakistan. The final also took place in Dubai, and India won it.
The India-Pakistan match is the most exciting and highly anticipated game in the tournament.
Due to the group stage format, there are likely to be at least two matches between the two teams. If their second match is on September 21, there might even be a third match before the final. However, this is the first time the two teams will face each other in the Asia Cup final.
India has won the Asia Cup twice, most recently in 2023 after defeating Sri Lanka.
Before that, Sri Lanka won the tournament in 2022 by defeating Pakistan.