New Delhi [India], August 20 (ANI): With India set to face Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025, former Indian football captain Bhaichung Bhutia has said that the decision on whether the two nations should compete against each other in sporting events must be left to the government of India. However, he stressed that such a stand should apply across all sports and not just cricket.

'I feel that it should be left to the government to decide, but at the same time, it should not be selective. If they are not playing cricket between India and Pakistan, they should not be playing any other sport as well,' Bhutia said.

He added that clarity from the government on the matter would help avoid confusion across different disciplines.

'I think it has to be a stand by the government of India to decide whether any sport, including cricket, has to be played or not. I would support and appreciate any call the government takes, but it should not be only exclusively for a particular sport,' Bhutia explained.

India will kick off their campaign against the UAE on September 10, while the high-voltage game against Pakistan is scheduled for September 14, with both fixtures set to be played in Dubai. India will play their final group stage fixture against Oman on September 19 in Abu Dhabi.

After the group stage, the tournament will proceed to the Super 4, where the top two teams from each group will qualify. If India finishes at the top of Group A, then all of their Super 4 matches will be held in Dubai. If India finishes second, then one of their Super 4 clashes will be held in Abu Dhabi and the remaining two in Dubai. The Super 4 stage will run from September 20 to 26. Dubai will host the final, which is scheduled for September 28.

Team India squad for Asia Cup: Surya Kumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh

Reserve players: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal. (ANI)