The Asia Cup 2025, commencing on 9th September, will feature eight teams for the first time, including three associate nations: Hong Kong, UAE, and Oman. Hong Kong, the most experienced of the three, is participating in its fifth Asia Cup. The UAE has participated four times, while this will be Oman's debut. All three teams qualified through the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Premier Cup tournament.
Hong Kong secured second place in their group by defeating Qatar and Malaysia, reaching the semi-finals. Despite losing to Oman in the semi-final, they qualified for the Asia Cup by winning the third-place playoff against Nepal.
This is Hong Kong's fifth Asia Cup appearance and their second in the T20 format. Their first qualification was in 2004, followed by 2008. After missing the next four editions, they returned strongly in 2018 and again qualified in 2022. However, they have yet to progress beyond the first round. This time, Hong Kong will aim to improve their record.
Yasim Murtaza (Captain), Babar Hayat, Zeeshan Ali, Nizakat Khan, Nasrullah Rana, Martin Coetzee, Anshi Rath, Khelon Challu, Ayush Shukla, Ejaz Khan, Ateeq Iqbal, Kinchit Shah, Ali Hassan, Shahid Wasif, Mohammad Ghazanfar, Mohammad Wahid, Ehsan Khan
The UAE qualified for the Asia Cup through the ACC Men's Premier Cup 2024. In this tournament held in Oman, the top two teams secured Asia Cup berths. The UAE defeated Nepal in the semi-final before beating Oman in the final. They are grouped with defending champions India, Pakistan, and Oman in Group A. Their first match is against India in Dubai, followed by Oman in Abu Dhabi, and then Pakistan in Dubai.
The UAE previously played in the Asia Cup T20 format only once, in 2016. That year, the qualifying stage was integrated into the tournament, and the UAE easily won the first stage with victories over Afghanistan, Hong Kong, and Oman. In the second stage, they lost all four matches, finishing bottom.
Muhammad Waseem (Captain), Alishan Sharafu, Aryansh Sharma (Wicketkeeper), Asif Khan, Dhruv Parashar, Ethan D'Souza, Haider Ali, Harshit Kosik, Junaid Siddiqui, Matiullah Khan, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Johyeb, Rahul Chopra (Wicketkeeper), Rohan Khan, Simranjeet Singh, and Sagheer Khan
Oman will be making their Asia Cup debut. Their campaign begins on 12th September against Pakistan in Dubai. They will then face the UAE on 15th September and conclude their group stage against defending champions India on 20th September at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Oman topped their group in the Premier Cup with four wins from four matches, before defeating Hong Kong in the semi-final. Although they lost to the UAE in the final, both teams qualified for the Asia Cup. The third-place playoff victory by Hong Kong also secured their place in the tournament.
Jatinder Singh (Captain), Hammad Mirza, Vinayak Shukla, Sufyan Yusuf, Aashish Oddedara, Amir Kaleem, Mohammad Nadeem, Sufyan Mahmoud, Aryan Bist, Karan Sonavale, Jikriya Islam, Hasnain Ali Shah, Faisal Shah, Mohammad Imran, Nadeem Khan, Shakil Ahmed, Sameer Srivastava
