The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has told the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) that they are pulling out the Indian teams from the Women’s Emerging Asia Cup and the Men’s Asia Cup slated to be held later this year. Sources have told News18 that India was likely to host the tournament in September, which was supposed to be a precursor to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup that is poised to take place in early-2026.

India and Sri Lanka are co-hosts for the biennial competition next year, and over the years, the Asia Cup has alternated from being a T20 tournament to an ODI one and back depending on the format of the next major ICC competition in line. According to Indian Express, the decision was taken by the BCCI following the escalated hostilities between the two sides in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor.

“The Indian team can’t play in a tournament that is organised by the ACC whose chief is a Pakistan minister,” a BCCI source told the newspaper. “That’s the sentiment of the nation. We have verbally communicated to ACC about our withdrawal from the upcoming Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup, and our future participation in their events too is on hold. We are in constant touch with the Indian government.”

The Asia Cup was last conducted in 2023, ahead of the ODI World Cup in India, with the Men in Blue emerging victorious by defeating Sri Lanka in the final. Though the tournament was hosted by Pakistan, India ended up playing all of their games in the island nation.

The BCCI’s decision could result in the cancellation of the Asia Cup altogether, since most of the sponsors for the tournament belong to India. Besides the Men in Blue, the competition also hosts Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and one other qualifying side, which was Nepal last time around.