Asia Cup: India and Pakistan face off in Dubai amid shadow of off-field hostilities

Both sides secured comfortable wins in their opening matches ahead of clash in Dubai

India captain Suryakumar Yadav and his Pakistan counterpart Salman Ali Agha. Getty Images

India and Pakistan will be reacquainted on similar territory on Sunday evening when they meet at Dubai International Stadium.

Such is the weighting of the draw for the Asia Cup, it will almost certainly be a precursor to a rematch a week later, at the start of the second round of the tournament.

All they each have to do to make that happen is dispatch struggling UAE and Oman, and they will advance to the next phase.

It means the stakes are as low as they could be for such a fixture, but both sides will want to strike a blow, given the prevailing atmosphere.

Political tension

This particular encounter has a tense backdrop: political relations between the countries has been ever more strained since the incident in April when gunmen killed 26 people in Indian-administered Kashmir.

There has been condemnation of the decision for the game going ahead, as well as calls for the players to boycott. As such, anything incendiary on the field could have an effect off it.

With all that said, though, neither side is likely to take a backward step. Each side’s captain has said as much.

“Aggression is always there when we take the field,” Suryakumar Yadav, the India captain, said ahead of the competition, albeit with his trademark jovial manner and while wearing a smile. “Without aggression, I don’t think you can play this sport.”

Captains of the Asia Cup 2025 participating teams. AFP

This is the fixture that carries with it the most expectation in world cricket – maybe world sport.

And yet the take up of tickets has been slow, despite it being played at an agreeable time on a weekend in Dubai.

The Asia Cup as a whole has been a tough sell. India’s opening game, against the UAE – the side hosting the event on their behalf – was barely half full.

Subdued build-up

There are many reasons for the indifferent response to the meeting between the neighbouring teams.

Initially, the tickets went on sale at a heavily inflated cost – even if it was part of a bundle that included a number of other matches.

Also, there is the lingering sense among a number of supporters of the rival sides that they should not be playing each other.

In India a policy had been announced that their national sports teams should not play Pakistan in bilateral fixtures.

But cricket matches between the two are too lucrative to be shelved entirely, so a neutral venue was found for this Asia Cup, and the show will go on.

India and Pakistan might be kept apart in bilateral cricket, but they still meet more or less annually, given the frequency of ICC – or, in this case, ACC – competitions.

It means dusting off stories like Javed Miandad v Chetan Sharma in Sharjah, or similar such great events between the two, can become slightly repetitive.

The rivalry does not need talking up. And, as Saim Ayub pointed out ahead of the latest of what could be three instalments of the fixtures at this tournament, history counts for naught anyway.

“Memories don’t matter,” Ayub, the Pakistan left-hander, said. “It is all about this tournament and this is what matters most.

“We want to win this tournament. We are not just looking forward to Pakistan-India match. We are looking forward to winning the tournament.”

Pakistan and India's preparation

Who has had the better lead in to the game? Well, Pakistan had decent prep for the tournament with a tri-series that included their other fierce rivals, Afghanistan, and a UAE side who at least put up a fight in Sharjah.

Salman Agha's side then oiled their wheels in their first match in the tournament on Friday night, dispatching a spirited Oman side.

India, by contrast, have had no competitive cricket to speak of since arriving in Dubai. Their tournament opener was less taxing than a net session.

So supine were the UAE in the opening match of the group, less than half of the scheduled 40 overs in the match were played.

India’s bowlers embellished their averages – Kuldeep Yadav chief among them with four for seven – and three batters at least managed some six-hitting practice.

For all their lack of match practice, plus the absence of retired greats like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, India still enter this fixture as the dominant force.

Some of their ex-players turned pundits have claimed India’s second XI could beat Pakistan.

Allowing for the jingoism of such a statement, it seems hard to argue on the basis of the strength in depth there is in Indian cricket.

Even in the wake of an embarrassing defeat in the opener, the UAE coach – and former India player – Lalchand Rajput spent much of the post-match debrief eulogising the Indians.

“It’s very difficult for them to pick the best XI,” Rajput said. “There will be some players who will be missing out, and I’m sure in the matches to come, they will be trying some options as well.

“If you look at it, their bowling attack, is one of the best.”