With the Asia Cup 2025 just around the corner, political tensions between India and Pakistan have cast doubt over the highly anticipated group-stage clash between the arch-rivals.
According to the original tournament schedule, India and Pakistan are set to face off on Sunday, September 14, having been drawn into the same group.
But recent developments suggest that the blockbuster match may not go ahead as planned.
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Amid cross-border tensions earlier this year, the India Champions withdrew from both matches against the Pakistan Champions in the World Championship of Legends (WCL) including the semifinals. Calls has also been made for India to boycott the Asia Cup fixture and, if necessary, the tournament itself.
This is not the first time such political and cross-border tensions between neighbors have triggered cricketing boycotts.
In this article, TSN explores previous instances where India or Pakistan have boycotted each other in cricket.
Instances when and India and Pakistan boycotted IND vs PAK fixtures
India and Pakistan share a long and strained history, much of which has extended to the cricket field as well.
The two teams have not faced each other in a bilateral series since 2012, while India has not travelled to Pakistan for a cricket match since the Asia Cup 2008.
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Below is the list of instances of boycotts from either team:
- Asia Cup 1990/91- Pakistan refused to travel to India for the Asia Cup
- Asia Cup 1993- India refused to travel to Pakistan — the tournament was cancelled.
- Bilateral series 2015- A series scheduled at a neutral venue (UAE) was cancelled after India's refusal.
Additionally, India has consistently taken a firm stance against traveling to Pakistan for multinational tournaments, opting instead to play at neutral venues.
Additionally, there have been events where India has taken a firm stand not to travel to Pakistan for multinational events and has faced off at neutral venues. India most recently took the stance during the Asia Cup 2023 and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
It will be interesting to see how things pan out between the two cricket boards with the Emerging Women's Asia Cup 2025 kept on hold.
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Pakistan is due to travel to India for the Women's World Cup later this year, with a match scheduled on October 5.
India will also host the T20 World Cup in 2026, where Pakistan is expected to travel to India.