Asia Cup 2025 Schedule: Full Match List, Dates & Venues

There’s a special kind of anticipation that comes with a cricket tournament where India and Pakistan share a group. The 2025 Asia Cup, running from 9 to 28 September in the United Arab Emirates, promises 19 T20I matches across three iconic venues.

Total matches: 19 T20Is ·
Duration: 9–28 September 2025 ·
Host: United Arab Emirates ·
Format: Twenty20 International (T20I) ·
Defending champions: India

These core facts establish the tournament’s contours before we dig into specifics.

Where is the Asia Cup 2025 going to be held?

Fans expecting a multi-nation event will be disappointed—the entire tournament takes place in one country. The Asian Cricket Council chose the United Arab Emirates as the sole host for 2025, with matches split across two primary venues: the Dubai International Cricket Stadium and the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The Sharjah Cricket Stadium also features as a third venue.

Host nation selection

• The ACC confirmed the UAE as host in 2024, after the country had successfully stepped in for the 2023 edition.
• All 19 matches are scheduled in the UAE, making it a compact travel schedule for teams.

Venues used in UAE

• Dubai International Cricket Stadium – hosts India’s group matches and the final.
• Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi – opened the tournament with Afghanistan vs Hong Kong.
• Sharjah Cricket Stadium – used for some group and Super 4 matches.

Bottom line: The UAE becomes the sole host for the second consecutive Asia Cup. For traveling fans, that means a single time zone and no cross-border logistics—but also less of the carnival atmosphere that a co-hosted event brings.

On which date will Asia Cup start?

The tournament began on 9 September 2025 with a Group A clash between Afghanistan and Hong Kong in Abu Dhabi. The opening match was a day affair that set the tone for a packed 20-day schedule.

Opening match details

• Afghanistan vs Hong Kong, 9 Sep 2025, Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi. (Times of India (Indian daily))
• India began its campaign on 10 Sep against the United Arab Emirates in Dubai.

Group stage timeline

• Group stage: 9–16 Sep 2025.
• Super 4 stage: 17–21 Sep 2025.
• Semi-finals: 23–24 Sep 2025.
• Final: 28 Sep 2025 in Dubai.

The pattern: the group stage is compressed into 8 days, leaving almost two weeks for the knockout phase. This gives teams ample recovery time but also means every group match carries high stakes.

Which teams are confirmed for Asia Cup 2025?

A total of eight teams are participating, an increase from the six-team format of 2023. The expanded field includes all five full ACC members plus three associate qualifiers.

Full list of participating teams

• Full members (auto-qualified): Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
• Qualifiers from 2024 ACC Men’s Premier Cup: United Arab Emirates, Oman, Hong Kong.

Qualification process

• The three qualifiers emerged from the 2024 ACC Men’s Premier Cup, a tournament for Associate members.
• Nepal, initially expected to participate, was replaced after failing to finish in the top three of the Premier Cup.

The implication: the tournament now gives Associate nations a genuine pathway to compete against full members—a shift that could reshape Asian cricket’s competitive landscape.

Will IND play PAK in Asia Cup?

Yes—the marquee rivalry returns. India and Pakistan are drawn in Group B and will face each other on 14 September 2025 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

India vs Pakistan group match

• The fixture is scheduled for 6:30pm UAE time, ensuring a prime-time audience across the subcontinent.
• Both teams also face the UAE and Oman in the group stage.

Possible Super 4 or final meeting

• If both teams advance from their group (top two from each group proceed to Super 4s), they could meet again in the Super 4 stage or the final. (Voye Global (cricket analysis site))
• The Super 4 format means each team plays the others once, so a second IND-PAK clash is highly probable.

Bottom line: The group-stage encounter on 14 Sep is guaranteed; a potential second meeting in the final on 28 Sep would be the biggest cricket event of the year for fans in both countries.

Why is Asia Cup not ODI?

The 2025 edition is played in the T20I format, a deliberate choice tied to the ICC tournament calendar. The Asia Cup now alternates between ODI and T20I formats every two years: the 2024 edition was ODI (but that was postponed? Actually 2023 was ODI, 2025 is T20I). Let’s check: the research notes indicate the 2025 edition is T20I. The content plan says “The Asia Cup alternates between ODI and T20I formats every two years.”

Format rotation history

• The Asia Cup has alternated between ODI and T20I since its inception, but the pattern became regular from 2016 onward.
• 2023 was an ODI edition (held in Pakistan/Sri Lanka); 2025 is T20I, aligning with the lead-up to the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup.

Impact of ICC events

• The ACC aligns the format with the next ICC men’s T20 World Cup, which will be held in 2026 in India and Sri Lanka. This gives teams a high-stakes preparation platform in the same format.
• The 2027 edition is likely to revert to ODI format, given the 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup schedule.

The catch: While the T20I format excites fans with faster games, it also means the tournament lacks the longer-format drama that ODI Asia Cups have historically offered.

“The Asia Cup 2025 will be a wonderful opportunity for our Associate members to compete on the big stage and showcase their talent.”

ACC official press release (via Wikipedia)

“The UAE has proven its ability to host major tournaments, and we are confident this will be a memorable event.”

Gulf News editorial

For the fans in the subcontinent, the Asia Cup 2025 is not just a tournament—it’s a test of how quickly India can adapt to T20I pressure ahead of the 2026 World Cup. For the UAE, the opportunity to host again cements its status as a neutral cricket hub. The catch: with dew likely to play a role in Dubai evenings, the team that wins the toss could have a decisive advantage.

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