Asia Cup 2025 Explained: Teams, Groups, Venues, Squads, Format, Prize Money, Broadcast - How Well Do You Know

The Asia Cup 2025 kicks off today (September 9) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with a Group B clash between Afghanistan and Hong Kong. Here's a comprehensive look at the 17th edition of Asia's premier men's cricket tournament.

With the T20 World Cup just months away, the tournament offers teams a chance to test combinations, assess form, and adapt to conditions similar to those expected in India and Sri Lanka. For players, it's a golden opportunity to stake their claim for World Cup selection.

It's bigger than ever, and will most likely be the most competitive yet.

For the first time in its history, the tournament features eight teams, with matches spread across two venues in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The Asia Cup 2025 serves as a crucial preparatory event ahead of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, scheduled for early 2026 in India and Sri Lanka.

Asia Cup 2025: Qualified Teams And Format

The eight participating teams are India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Hong Kong. ICC Full Member nations Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka gained direct entry, while the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Hong Kong qualified via the ACC Premier Cup 2024.

They've been split into two groups. Each team play three group matches. The top two from each group qualify for the Super Four, where each team play the other three once. The top two teams from the Super Four then meet in the final, on September 28, in Dubai.

• Group A: India, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Oman

• Group B: Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Hong Kong

Asia Cup Cricket History

The Asia Cup began in 1984 as a three-team event featuring India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Since then, nine teams have featured in the finals, with Oman the latest to join the fold.

India are the defending champions, having won the 2023 edition in the 50-over format. Historically, India are the most successful team with eight titles. Sri Lanka follow with six, while Pakistan have won twice.

Bangladesh have reached the final three times but are yet to win the trophy. Afghanistan, Nepal, the UAE, and Hong Kong have shown promise in recent years. Oman are making their finals debut after qualifying through the ACC Premier Cup in 2024. Nepal, however, did not qualify for this edition.

India won the inaugural edition. Over the years, the tournament has evolved in both format and scale. Initially a round-robin ODI contest among three or four teams, it expanded to include more nations and adopted a biennial schedule from 2008 onward.

Asia Cup And Alternate Formats

In 2016, the Asian Cricket Council introduced the T20 format to align with the global cricket calendar. The format now alternates between ODI and T20, depending on the upcoming ICC event.

The 2025 edition returns to the T20 format, following the 2023 ODI edition, to help teams gear up for the next T20 World Cup.

Asia Cup 2025: Official Host And Venue Shift

Though the tournament is being played in the UAE, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) remains the official host. The shift to the UAE was necessitated by ongoing political tensions between India and Pakistan.

Since neither team plays in the other's country, a neutral venue was essential. The UAE was chosen for its proven track record in hosting multinational cricket events, including previous Asia Cups, IPL editions, and ICC tournaments.

Asia Cup 2025 Venues

Dubai and Abu Dhabi are familiar venues for Asian teams. The Dubai International Cricket Stadium, known for its batting-friendly pitches, has hosted marquee matches including India vs Pakistan clashes. It has staged 169 international matches, including 93 T20Is.

The Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, meanwhile, offers a more balanced pitch and has seen competitive contests across formats. It has hosted 136 international games, including 68 T20Is.

Together, these two venues will host all 19 matches of the Asia Cup 2025, with Dubai set to stage the final.

Asia Cup 2025 Prize Money

While the Asian Cricket Council hasn't officially announced the prize money, reports suggest an increased pool. The winners are expected to receive USD 300,000 (approx. INR 2.6 crore), and the runners-up USD 150,000.

Individual awards will also carry monetary incentives.

Asia Cup 2025 Broadcast And Live Streaming

In India, the Asia Cup 2025 will be broadcast on Sony Sports Network, with live streaming available on the SonyLiv app and website.

Other regions:

• Pakistan: PTV Sports HD, Tapmad, Myco

• Sri Lanka: Sirasa TV, TV-1, Dialog ViU app

• Bangladesh: Gazi TV, Toffee, Tapmad

• UAE and MENA: CricLife, StarzPlay

Asia Cup 2025 Squads

• Afghanistan Asia Cup 2025 Squad:

  Rashid Khan (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Darwish Rasooli, Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mohammad Ishaq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Allah Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Farid Malik, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi.

• Bangladesh Asia Cup 2025 Squad:

  Litton Das (c), Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Saif Hassan, Tawhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali Anik, Shamim Hossain, Quazi Nurul Hasan Sohan, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Shaif Uddin.

• Hong Kong Asia Cup 2025 Squad:

  Yasim Murtaza (c), Babar Hayat, Zeeshan Ali, Niazakat Khan Mohammad, Nasrulla Rana, Martin Coetzee, Anshuman Rath, Kalhan Marc Challu, Ayush Shukla, Mohammad Aizaz Khan, Ateeq ul Rehman Iqbal, Kinchit Shah, Ali Hassan, Shahid Wasif, Ghazanfar Mohammad, Mohammad Waheed, Ehsan Khan.

• India Asia Cup 2025 Squad:

  Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.

• Oman Asia Cup 2025 Squad:

  Jatinder Singh (c), Hammad Mirza, Vinayak Shukla, Sufyan Yousuf, Ashish Odedera, Aamir Kaleem, Mohammed Nadeem, Sufyan Mehmood, Aryan Bisht, Karan Sonavale, Zikriya Islam, Hassnain Ali Shah, Faisal Shah, Muhammed Imran, Nadeem Khan, Shakeel Ahmad, Samay Shrivastava.

• Pakistan Asia Cup 2025 Squad:

  Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Waseem Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Afridi, Sufyan Moqim.

• Sri Lanka Asia Cup 2025 Squad:

  Charith Asalanka (c), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Nuwanidu Fernando, Kamindu Mendis, Kamil Mishara, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dunith Wellalage, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Binura Fernando, Nuwan Thushara, Matheesha Pathirana.

• United Arab Emirates Asia Cup Squad:

  Muhammad Waseem (c), Alishan Sharafu, Aryansh Sharma, Asif Khan, Dhruv Parashar, Ethan D'Souza, Haider Ali, Harshit Kaushik, Junaid Siddique, Matiullah Khan, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Zohaib, Rahul Chopra, Rohid Khan, Simranjeet Singh, Saghir Khan.