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Inaugural edition winners India skipped the second edition of the Asia Cup, which was played in Sri Lanka in 1986.
India skipped the 1986 edition of Asia Cup played in Sri Lanka. (Picture Credit: Facebook/@ICC)
India is the most successful team in Men’s Asia Cup history. The Men in Blue have won eight titles so far, but the two-time ODI World Cup and two-time T20 World Cup winners have not featured in all 17 editions of the Asia Cup. The Indian team won the inaugural edition under Sunil Gavaskar’s leadership in 1984 but skipped the next edition played in Sri Lanka in 1986.
The reason behind India not taking part in the 1986 edition was strained relations with Sri Lanka.
After India pulled out of the tournament, they were replaced by Bangladesh, which qualified by winning the 1984 South-East Asia Cup.
According to the Times of India, “That year’s event (1986) was scheduled in Sri Lanka but was overshadowed by the country’s escalating civil war, which had broken out in 1983 between the government and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Concerned for player safety, the Indian government instructed the BCCI to withdraw the team, making it a politically sensitive move given India’s delicate regional diplomacy over the conflict.”
India isn’t the only team to pull out of the Asia Cup due to strained relations with the host country.
In the 1990-91 edition of the Asia Cup, which was played in India from December 25, 1990, to January 4, 1991, Pakistan also refused to travel to India due to strained political relations with India.
However, since the 1990-91 edition, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have featured in every edition of the Asia Cup.
India to pull out of match against Pakistan?
The Indian team, which kicked off its campaign in the Asia Cup 2025 on Wednesday, September 10, with a 9-wicket win over UAE in Dubai, will next take on arch-rivals Pakistan at the same venue on Sunday, September 14. India have won 10 out of 18 matches played so far in the Asia Cup against the Pakistani team. In the last match played between the two teams in the Asia Cup on September 10-11, 2023, in Colombo, the Rohit Sharma-led side secured a win by 228 runs over Babar Azam’s men.
The match between India and Pakistan on Sunday will be their first clash since the Pahalgam attack in which 26 civilians lost their lives. There have been calls for a boycott of the match in India, but it looks like the match will go ahead as planned.
September 11, 2025, 21:07 IST
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