Sports ministry recently clarified India’s stance on Thursday. India will participate in International and bilateral cricket in Asia Cup. This will include a face-off with the rival country, Pakistan.
Giving green signal to international cricket however bilateral hosted matches between two countries is restricted.
The Indian government has continued the stance of halting bilateral matches between two nations since 2012-13. This stance became stronger after the Pahalgam terror attack. The attack was infiltrated by Pakistani based terrorist groups in India on April 22, 2025.
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Multilateral Face-off Between Both Nations Is Permitted With Bilateral Stand-off
The Sports Ministry made an announcement on Thursday. They sealed Team India’s participation in the upcoming Asia Cup clash against Pakistan. The match will be held in the UAE from September 9.
Both rival countries are scheduled to meet on 14 September at the Dubai International cricket stadium. This match is a Group A fixture. The Asia’s Cup begins in UAE on September 9.
The Indian government unveiled a new policy regarding cricket sports. It clarified that India will participate in international sporting engagement. However, bilateral contests remain off the table for both countries.
Indian teams will not be participating in competitions in Pakistan. This applies to bilateral sports events in each other’s country. Nor will we permit Pakistani teams to play in India,” it added. However, the multilateral engagements will not be affected. “We will not stop Indian cricket team from playing in Asia Cup as it is multilateral,” the ministry source said.
India’s overall policy on dealing with the State of Pakistan has hardened. This change lays emphasis on the Pahalgam terror attack. It also includes changes to bilateral sporting arrangements.
“India’s approach to sports events involving Pakistan reflects its overall policy in dealing with that country,” states the ministry policy. “But Pakistan will not be allowed on Indian soil for bilateral competitions. But we will not stop them from multilateral events as we will abide by Olympic Charter,” ministry further added.
Indian Ministry Stance on Sporting Events that will be Hosted on Pakistan’s Soil
A hybrid model is cleared for sporting arrangements between Indian and Pakistan.
Back in 2023, the Indian team never got government clearance to travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup. That is when Sri Lanka brought in as co-host to stage all of India’s matches. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been clear on its stance. Nothing of that sort will fly for the Champions Trophy in 2025. After months of a tug-of-war with the BCCI, the ICC finally stepped in. They slotted Dubai as the neutral venue for all of India’s games.
Both boards then struck an agreement that will hold till 2027. Whenever Pakistan hosts, India’s matches move to a neutral venue. Whenever India hosts, Pakistan’s games shift out. Such arrangements will not automatically apply to all sports. The ministry remarked that it will consider all unique circumstances. This will occur before giving a final verdict on other types of sports played between two rival nations.
“In that scenario, we will examine the case before deciding anything.” ministry remarked. “Even in multi-lateral events, we can’t leave our athletes in the lurch. After all, this is a country that declares itself a dumpster without hesitation. It claims it can hit the shining Mercedes that is India.” they said.
The announcement reaffirms India’s dual stance: no bilateral sporting revival with Pakistan, but no obstruction of multilateral tournaments either. For Indian cricket fans, the Asia Cup is highly anticipated. India and Pakistan could clash three times. The tournament remains firmly on the calendar.
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