The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is all set to ‘invisibly’ boycott the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 match between India and Pakistan on Sunday.
According to a report by
, most BCCI officials will not be attending the match in Dubai despite India being the official hosts. The Asia Cup matches were shifted to UAE amid rising political tensions between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attacks. The report further claimed that no BCCI official has reached Dubai till now and only one official is expected to be present at the stadium on match day.
The decision was reportedly taken following the ‘boycott campaign’ in India with many fans expressing their displeasure over the match against Pakistan. The diplomatic relationship between the two nations took a hit after the terror attack and some fans are not happy with India playing cricket against Pakistan.
During the Champions Trophy match between India and Pakistan earlier this year in Dubai, all top BCCI officials and representatives of several state cricket boards were present at the venue.
However, this time, no such scenes can be expected with BCCI officials reportedly fearing backlash.
The report said that Rajiv Shukla may attend the match as a member of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) but it is highly unlikely that either International Cricket Council (ICC) Chairman Jay Shah or BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia will be present.
A spoilt-for-choice Indian squad will be the favourite by a country mile against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday in their Asia Cup encounter, according to PTI.
There is no dearth of context in the contest with a T20 World Cup set to be played in India in four months’ time. But for the first time in many years, a cricket match between India and Pakistan, that too scheduled on a Sunday, lacks the kind of high-pitched narrative that always comes with the territory.
There are batters like Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Abhishek Sharma, a pacer like Jasprit Bumrah, spinners of Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy’s calibre in the Indian playing XI. The Indians look way more menacing on paper compared to Pakistan, who are trying to find their feet under new skipper Salman Ali Agha.
However, considering the fickle nature of the format, there is always the chance of an upset but against this Indian team, the probability remains low.
One of the most talented batters in Pakistan’s line-up, opener Saim Ayub, middle-order willow-wielder Hasan Nawaz and the troika of spinners in Abrar Ahmed, Sufiyan Muqeen and Mohammed Nawaz would love to prove a point in a new look team that dumped the philosophy of depending heavily on Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan.