The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) unveiled the schedule for the Asia Cup 2025 last week, confirming the league stage clash between India and Pakistan will take place on September 14.

Uncertainty over the India-Pakistan clash has mounted after the India Champions team, led by Yuvraj Singh, withdrew from their scheduled WCL match against Pakistan Champions twice this month.

The decision was made in response to the heightened tensions between two countries following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.

While the BCCI is yet to release an official statement on boycotting Pakistan in the continental tournament, former India cricketer Madan Lal has raised his voice against the scheduled fixture.

"Those who have lost their near and dear ones, ask them what they are feeling. They have been scarred for life. This is our habit that people forget such incidents, when it comes to cricket matches, when it comes to finance, when it comes to ICC tournaments. It's going to be the same. But if you ask me, I will never have any tie with Pakistan," Madan said while speaking to NDTV.

When asked the reason behind not boycotting Pakistan completely, Lal replied, "Because we are not strong enough to take a decision. It's as simple as that. You take the decision that 'we will never play Pakistan'. It's an old habit in our country, we tend to forget such things 10-15 days after the incident. For the people, who have lost their near and dear ones, this is wrong. But the decision has been made by the BCCI, the government, the public did not decided. If you take public's decision, they will say never play against Pakistan."

Amid the growing debate, it is learnt that the BCCI cannot pull out from the continental event, and the fixture between the bitter rivals will go ahead as planned.

According to sources, the Indian board gave the green light during the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting.

"The BCCI cannot withdraw from the tournament or the match now. The decision was agreed upon after the ACC meeting. Since India is the host nation, nothing can be changed at this stage. An official-level discussion took place, and the outcome was decided accordingly. The match will go ahead as scheduled," BCCI sources told news agency IANS earlier this week.

India and Pakistan can face each other three times in the upcoming Asia Cup, slated to get underway on September 9. After the group stage fixture on September 14, they can meet once again on September 22 if they qualify together for the Super Four stage while their showdown in the final on September 28 is also a possibility.