India captain Suryakumar Yadav and Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha did not shake hands yet again at the toss time of their Asia Cup 2025 Super Four match. This follows on from the trend set in their first meeting, when both captains also did not shake hands at the toss, and India even refused to shake hands after the game. India won the toss and opted to bowl. They made two crucial changes to their lineup, bringing back pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and the No. 1-ranked T20I bowler Varun Chakravarthy.
India take on Pakistan for a second time in the Asia Cup 2025, this time in the Super Four stage. India and Pakistan finished in the top two of Group A, and as a result, are facing off in the Super Four.
Pakistan will be aiming to put in a better performance than last time, having been convincingly beaten in their previous encounter.
A lot of drama on and off the field has taken place since the first match between India and Pakistan. While the Indian players and staff refused to shake hands with their Pakistan counterparts given the political tension between the two countries, Pakistan put the blame of the incident on match referee Andy Pycroft.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had appealed to the International Cricket Council (ICC) regarding Pycroft, demanding an apology and his removal from their matches. Pakistan stated that Pycroft had allowed the no-handshake saga to go ahead.
However, the PCB’s demand was rejected by the ICC, leading to Pakistan threatening to boycott their final match against the United Arab Emirates (UAE). That ultimately did not happen, with Pycroft explaining his miscommunication regarding the previous incident to Pakistan captain Agha, head coach Mike Hesson and their team manager.
Since then, Pakistan have found themselves in hot water over the conversation with Pycroft. The ICC are reportedly investigating Pakistan for going against the Code of Conduct by letting their media manager film the meeting.
On the cricket field, Pakistan saw a target of 128 chased down in just 15.5 overs by Suryakumar Yadav’s men in their first meeting. India enter the rematch unbeaten in the Asia Cup so far.