The Vice President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Rajiv Shukla, expressed confidence in the Indian team’s ability to win the upcoming Asia Cup final against Pakistan on Sunday.
India and Pakistan will meet in the final of the Asia Cup for the first time in 41 years. India secured the top spot on the Asia Cup Super 4 points table, while Pakistan finished second, allowing both teams to qualify for the final match.
Speaking to reporters after the BCCI’s Annual General Meeting at the board’s headquarters, Shukla asserted his belief that India would lift the cup.
“We will win… we’ll be crowned champions,” he said.
India and Pakistan are set to clash in the Asia Cup final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The Indian team
leads Pakistan 2-0 in the tournament this year, having won both previous encounters earlier this month.
The upcoming match in Dubai is expected to be highly intense, given the nature of the previous two games between the rivals. In the first game, the Indian team declined to shake hands with their opponents due to political tensions between the countries. In the second game, Pakistani players made controversial gestures that sparked further unrest.
As a result, the International Cricket Council (ICC) intervened and took strict action against players from both sides, including a 30 per cent fine for Harris Rauf for breaching the code of conduct.
It will be interesting to see how the players from both teams approach the upcoming game. Defending champions India are the most successful team in Asia Cup history, having won the title eight times. Sri Lanka has won the Asia Cup six times, while Pakistan has emerged victorious twice.
