The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made it abundantly clear that it will not endorse any decisions made at the Asian Cricket Council's (ACC) Annual General Meeting if the meeting proceeds in Dhaka, a highly placed source has said.
This position casts new doubt over the future of the forthcoming Asia Cup, a six-country T20 competition, with both schedule and venue still to be officially announced. Although India has been named host country, the ACC has not completed any arrangements, although there is speculation that September is the potential timeframe.
The AGM is scheduled for July 24 in Dhaka. India, however, has refused to send representatives to the meeting in view of the current situation in Bangladesh. In a connected development, the BCCI and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) just agreed to reschedule India's tour of Bangladesh from August 2025 to September 2026.
Today, the ACC is being headed by Pakistan Cricket Board chief and interior minister of Pakistan, Mohsin Naqvi. The source cited that Naqvi is "trying to exert undue pressure" on the BCCI with regard to the venue. It was also confirmed that the BCCI officially asked for the venue change, although no response has been issued yet.
"Asia Cup is possible only if the location of the meeting is shifted from Dhaka. ACC chairman Mohsin Naqvi is attempting to put unnecessary pressure on India for the meeting. We asked him to shift the location, but have got no response. BCCI will boycott any solution if Mohsin Naqvi proceeds with the meeting in Dhaka," the source mentioned.
India comes to the next Asia Cup as champion. In the 2023 one, India refused to go to Pakistan, so Sri Lanka was selected as a neutral venue for India's games. Previously in 2025, Pakistan had hosted the ICC Champions Trophy, but India once again chose to play their matches at a neutral location in Dubai because of the same cross-border issues.
Last month in May, social media buzzed with news that India had pulled out of both the 2025 Asia Cup and the Women's Emerging Teams Asia Cup due to political tensions with Pakistan. The BCCI had, according to reports, told the ACC of their withdrawal from the Women's event, scheduled next month in Sri Lanka, as well as the Men's tournament due this September.
But BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia staunchly denied those reports, explaining that the board had not informed the ACC of any such plan. He referred to the reports doing rounds as "imaginary and speculative," ending the increasing buzz surrounding India's involvement.
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