India to play Pakistan in Baseball West Asia Cup semifinal

The Indian men’s baseball team will take on Pakistan in the semifinals of the BFA XVI West Asia Baseball Cup on Tuesday in Karaj, Iran.

India is ranked 69 in the world, and Pakistan, at No. 38, is the highest-ranked team in the competition.

India advanced to the semifinal after winning two of its three matches in the group stage. India registered wins over Sri Lanka 3-2, who won the last edition of the tournament in Colombo in 2019, and Afghanistan 12-4, and lost to Palestine 1-6 in the opener. They finished second in their group.

Meanwhile, Pakistan won both its group games, beating Bangladesh 10-6 and host Iran 14-0.

The competition is being organised by the Baseball Federation of Asia, which is the Asian chapter of the World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC), which in turn is affiliated to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Teams from Iran, Afghanistan, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Palestine are competing for regional glory and a spot in the Asian Baseball Championship in China this November.

Earlier, the Indian handball team had drawn criticism for playing Pakistan in the Asian Beach Handball Championships in Oman on May 9, just weeks after the Pahalgam terror attack.

The Indian team had considered boycotting it as India was threatened with a ban and a fine by the continental body.