Asia Cup 2025: Tickets yet to be sold out for India-Pakistan clash; netizens from India create massive escalation in boycott trends

Asia Cup 2025 has begun and all three games so far were expectedly one-sided with Afghanistan, India and Bangladesh registering comfortable wins respectively. Today (September 12) will see Pakistan entering the fray as they take on Oman in what will be the first game of the tournament for both sides. In all likelihood, this could be another game devoid of competitive nature. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will face-off on Saturday (September 13) but the marquee clash is undoubtedly India facing Pakistan on Sunday (September 14). However, unlike the clashes between the arch-rivals in recent times, this one seems to be lacking in hype. With less than 48 hours to go, tickets still seem available for the blockbuster encounter and this is something generally unheard of.

While the gulf in overall skill-sets between India and Pakistan has increased in recent years, the two teams have still given us some memorable games with the most famous one coming in the 2022 T20 World Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. On current form, India are overwhelming favourites against a Pakistan side that is still trying to find its tempo in T20 cricket. That said, seldom do such rivalry clashes pan out according to logic with emotions also playing a key role. This Asia Cup fixture, though, could be the most low-key affair between the two sides in a long time. Apart from the shocking availability of tickets, there also seems to be a massive outrage from Indian fans regarding the fixture.

It must be remembered that India had decided not to engage with Pakistan in any form of sports since the Pahalgam attack in April this year. While the strained relations between the two countries had already cut-off bilateral cricket since 2012, it seemed like there would be indefinite suspension of any kind of cricket in the near future. Things spiralled when India were slated to face Pakistan in the World Championship of Legends tournament but after severe social media backlash, the India Legends side backed out at the last moment, giving their Pakistan counterparts a walkover. This repeated in the semifinal where India were scheduled to face their neighbours again but the Yuvraj Singh-led side chose not to play once more.

This had created uncertainty over the Asia Cup tournament that was looming but those doubts were put to rest with the BCCI announcing a full-fledged schedule that potentially sees India playing Pakistan not once but thrice if the teams make it to the final. The Central Government then gave clearance to the India-Pakistan games for this tournament, stating that the suspension of ties would be only with respect to bilateral cricket. That, of course, means that the India-Pakistan matches will continue to happen in multi-national tournaments but Indian fans on social media are clearly miffed at this development.

If the trends from India's netizens are to be believed, a large section want India to boycott the Pakistan games in the tournament, even if it means gifting their arch-rivals free points. With emotions understandably still at an extreme due to the Pahalgam attacks, fans seem to be angry at the BCCI for not taking a tougher stand in this matter.

"Boycott #INDvPAK !! Cricket should not be played with a country where terrorism is fostered. The sacrifices our soldiers made should never go into vain. Blood and cricket cannot flow together! Shame on @BCCI who let it happen. Jai Hind!", wrote a user Siddharth Bhatia on X.

Another user Hemant Gautam echoed similar sentiments urged fellow fans to show their commitment to the country.

"BCCI has taken an incredibly loose stance and now the entire nation is ready to GIVE UP watching cricket. As someone rightly said, it’s not Team INDIA,  it’s just a private BCCI team. #BoycottAsiaCup #IndVsPak #INDvPAK"

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of India dismissed a petition filed for cancellation of the match and also added that people shouldn't include sporting events while placing such petitions. The country stands divided on this issue but clearly, there is a huge outrage against India playing Pakistan in any sport. The availability of tickets indicate that some of these boycott trends have affected the buzz for sure. We shall get to know more about this on Sunday when the two teams take the field.

Will we see a jam-packed stadium in Dubai? Will the two teams provide us with another cracking game? More importantly, will the Indian fans turn up to watch this contest or boycott the match? Time will tell.