Pakistan may be ousted from the upcoming Asia Cup, as the terrorism it nurtured on its own soil is once again a threat to its cricketing credibility. The recent Pahalgam terror attack has further exposed its persistent role in spreading cross-border terrorism.
Indian Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has made a bold prediction that the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) might get disbanded in the coming months, amidst the tension between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack. The BCCI is the co-host of the multi-nation tournament, which is scheduled to be held this year, but in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, things have changed drastically, and the Government of India has taken some bold decisions in recent times.
Notably on April 22, 2025, 26 Hindu tourists were shot dead in a cold-blooded manner by Jihadi terrorists. The terrorists asked the tourists their religion and to recite the Kalma (a declaration of faith central to Islam) to make sure that only Hindus were targeted. Terrorists also checked the IDs of the victims and pulled down their trousers to check if they were circumcised.
“BCCI’s stance has always been what the government of India tells them to do. So I don’t think it would be any different when it comes to the Asia Cup. India and Sri Lanka are the hosts for this particular edition of the Asia Cup, so it depends on whether things have changed at all, but if things haven’t changed, I can’t see Pakistan now being part of the Asia Cup, which is going to be hosted by India and Sri Lanka,” Sunil Gavaskar told Sports Today.
Gavaskar asserted that a lot of it will depend on whether things change in the next couple of months between the two nations, but said that the future of ACC is also at stake now.
“I don’t know how it will be. It might be that the Asian Cricket Council could well be disbanded, and you could just have a three-nation tour, that could well have a three-nation tournament, or a four-nation tournament with maybe Hong Kong or UAE being invited. So that could well happen, the Asian Cricket Council could said be disbanded. But I think it is dependent on what happens in the next couple of months,” he added.
“It could well happen that India decides to pull out of the Asian Cricket Council that could well happen. We can say look we’re going to have a 4 nation tournament or a 5 nation tournament in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and it could be, it could well be that if the tournament is held in Bangladesh, the tournament is held in Sri Lanka, but obviously India is going to be the host, then India will host it in India,” he said.
It is to be noted that, earlier this year, India didn’t travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy and played all their matches in Dubai, including the final, where they defeated New Zealand to win the title.
“I won’t be surprised at all if the Asian Cricket Council gets disbanded with what’s been happening. I mean if you’ve got two countries, you know, fighting against each other, then it’s, it’s a little bit difficult to, to play sport with each other,” he further said.
India are co-hosts, alongside Sri Lanka, for this year’s Asia Cup. While the dates and venues for the event are yet to be confirmed, a report recent claimed that the Asia Cup might not take place this year owing to tensions between India and Pakistan.
Notably, Cricket in Pakistan came to a halt after the 2009 terror attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, when terrorists opened fire on the players’ bus near Gaddafi Stadium. The horrifying incident, which left several players injured and killed multiple security personnel, forced international teams to boycott tours to Pakistan for years. That chilling episode became a defining moment in Pakistan’s cricket history, underlining how terrorism has been given space on its soil.
