India and Pakistan faced off each other in the Asia Cup 2025 final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, September 28. Much like the previous two meetings, in the group-stage and Super Four, tensions were visible during toss time as Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav and Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha did not shake hands.
There was no formal handshake between the two. Match referee Andy Pycroft, who officiated both of the arch-rivals' clashes, was not in the roster for the final as Richie
Richardson was present instead of Pycroft, who has been at the centre of the no handshake saga.
In yet another departure from the norm, former Pakistan cricketer Waqar Younis was present at the toss and interacted with Agha instead of Ravi Shastri. Normally, there is only one broadcaster who comes up during the toss. However,
Meanwhile, both of the earlier games between the arch-rivals were won by the Men in Blue while batting second. Suryakumar, on winning the toss, opted to field first. He also announced three changes from India's end from their previous match against Sri Lanka. On the other hand, Agha announced the same side. He expressed happiness on being able to bat first.
"We are looking to bowl first. It looks like a good wicket. The wicket gets better under lights. We have been batting well first but we would like to chase today. The groundsmen have done a terrific job with the wickets here and it will stay the same. The brand of cricket we have been playing for the last 5-6 games is pretty good and we would like to continue that. Unfortunately Hardik misses out due to a niggle, Arshdeep and Harshit also miss out. Bumrah, Dube and Rinku come in," stated Surykumar after winning the toss.
Agha said: "Definitely happy to bat first. We are very excited and looking forward to this game. We haven't played a perfect game and hopefully we play one today. Same side. We have been playing on these pitches for a while and it will play the same."
Playing XIs
India: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha (c), Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
