The announcement of the India vs. Pakistan match in the Asia Cup has stirred up a lot of criticism on social media. But, reliable sources say the game, planned for September 14, is still on.

Sources say that because this is a multi-nation tournament and not a bilateral one, if India skips the match, Pakistan would get a big advantage. It would be like handing them an easy win, which isn’t ideal.

After 26 people were killed by terrorists from Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir back in April, tensions are still high. This even led to a brief military back-and-forth. Now, the two countries’ cricket teams are set to meet in the Asia Cup.

A sports ministry source told PTI that right now, the BCCI isn’t under the sports ministry because the National Sports Governance Bill hasn’t been passed yet. So, they don’t have a say, but they’re waiting to see how the BCCI will react to public opinion.

Lieutenant General (Retd) KJS Dhillon, a former Director General of the Defence Intelligence Agency, is among those who think India should boycott all cricket ties with Pakistan. Yet, Sourav Ganguly, ex-BCCI President and captain, has said that while he condemns terrorism, sport should go on.

The sports ministry has said that any bilateral sports with Pakistan is out of the question for now.

But for multi-nation contests, they’ll follow the Olympic Charter, which doesn’t allow discrimination based on politics. That’s why the government has said it won’t stop Pakistan from coming to India for global events. Sticking to the Charter is key for India’s plan to host the 2036 Olympics.

Cricket is now part of the Olympic program and will debut in 2028 in the T20 format. The Asia Cup, though, isn’t an ICC event; the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), currently headed by Pakistan Cricket Board chief Mohsin Naqvi, will run it.

The tournament includes a scheduled India-Pakistan match on September 14, with the chance for two more games later on. These games are worth a lot of money, since broadcasters expect lots of viewers and high ad rates. Sony Network bought the eight-year broadcast rights from the ACC for USD 170 million.

Sources say that if the India-Pakistan match doesn’t happen in the Asia Cup, the channel could lose a lot of money, which would also hurt the ACC’s expected earnings.

These losses won’t affect the BCCI too much, but they would impact the income of the other 24 ACC members, most of whom are still developing in cricket.

The National Sports Governance Bill lets the sports ministry step in and put reasonable limits on Indian teams’ and athletes’ international participation if extraordinary circumstances and the national interest require it. The bill was introduced in Parliament last week, but it will take some time to pass since it needs approval from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha before going to the President.

The ministry has stated that the BCCI will be under its control once the bill passes. The situation changes then. But for now, things are as they are. It’s the BCCI’s decision, the source said.

India and Pakistan haven’t played any money-making bilateral games since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, where terrorists from Pakistan killed over 150 people. But they’ve often played in multi-nation events like the World Cup and the Champions Trophy, which get lots of viewers both in person and on TV and online.