Asia Cup Tournament hosted by UAE | 8 teams, 19 matches | Opening match: Afghanistan vs Hong Kong
Dubai, Sept. 09 (DailyMail24 Online) : The much-anticipated Asia Cup T20 cricket tournament, awaited eagerly by fans, begins today. The 20-day tournament will feature a total of 19 matches. A total of eight teams — India, Pakistan, UAE, Oman, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong — will take part. Two venues in the UAE will host the matches.
The teams are divided into two groups. Group A: India, Pakistan, UAE and Oman. Group B: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong. Teams will play round-robin matches within their groups; the top two teams from each group will advance to the Super-4 stage. The Super-4 then determines the two finalists who will contest the title match.
Format / T20 history
“Third time as T20 format: This time the tournament will be held in the T20 format. The Asia Cup began in 1984 and was originally an ODI tournament. Since 2016, the playing format has alternated between editions — for example 2016 was T20, 2018 ODI, 2022 T20, 2023 ODI (as listed). Historically the competition has included different numbers of teams in different years (some editions had 3 teams, other editions 4 or 5, etc.)
India’s matches in Asia Cup
vs UAE — Sep 10 — Dubai — 8:00 pm (IST)
vs Pakistan — Sep 14 — Dubai — 8:00 pm (IST)
vs Oman — Sep 19 — Abu Dhabi — 8:00 pm (IST)
India vs Pakistan — could meet 3 times?
The article notes that if both India and Pakistan progress as expected they could possibly meet three times in this edition — in the group stage, again in the Super-4 and potentially in the final. (It reiterates the Super-4 / final qualification process.)
Where matches will be played (venues & match counts)
Dubai (stadium) — 11 matches — Seating capacity 25,000
Abu Dhabi (stadium) — 8 matches — Seating capacity 20,000
Titles tally
India — 8 Asia Cup titles
Sri Lanka — 6
Pakistan — 2
Broadcast / timing
Example: UAE vs Oman on Sep 15 (local 5:30 pm) will start at 8:00 pm IST for the Indian audience. Matches will be broadcast on Sony Sports / SonyLIV (live coverage).
Eyes 👀 set on the target! 🎯
An energetic fielding drill ft. #TeamIndia fielding coach T Dilip 💪
WATCH 🎥🔽 #AsiaCup2025
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 9, 2025
