India are set to face arch-rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup today in Dubai amid the boycott calls all over the country. Not many are in favour of the match happening after what happened earlier this year in Pahalgam. But the BCCI and the Indian government have time and again reiterated the fact that sports will go ahead with Pakistan only in the multilateral events, while they have been banned from playing in bilaterals. However, 39 years ago, India had boycotted the Asia Cup entirely, but the reason was not Pakistan then.
The tournament was to be played in Sri Lanka and India were the defending champions, having won the previous edition. But India decided to opt out of the Asia Cup due to the civil war in Sri Lanka. The Government of India instructed the BCCI not to send the Indian team to the island nation due to the unrest in the country. India were replaced by Bangladesh, who hadn't played a single ODI by then.
Sri Lanka won the Asia Cup, beating Pakistan in the final. However, India returned to the Asia Cup in 1988, hosted by Bangladesh and defeated Sri Lanka in the final to lift the trophy.
Other boycott instances in the Asia Cup
Interestingly, Pakistan boycotted the Asia Cup in 1990, the edition which was hosted by India due to political tensions between the two countries. Moreover, the 1993 edition of the continental event was completely cancelled for the same reason.
Meanwhile, as for the upcoming India vs Pakistan clash, there is a lot of tension in India with a lot of fans calling for a boycott. However, the match is set to go ahead as planned in Dubai, even as the spectators are not being allowed to take any posters inside the stadium. Both teams have won a game each to start their campaign on a high and will be looking to seal their spot in the Super Four round with a win in this encounter.
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