The much-anticipated Asia Cup 2025 final between Pakistan and India will take place in Dubai on Sunday.
Unlike tradition, the customary pre-final photo session with the trophy will not be held due to heightened tensions between the two sides.
Tournament organizers confirmed that no such event took place on Saturday, adding that a final decision regarding the photo session would be made on Sunday before the match.
This will mark the first time in the 41-year history of the Asia Cup that Pakistan and India will meet in the tournament’s final.
The issue of sportsmanship has also come under scrutiny, as the Indian players avoided handshakes with their Pakistani counterparts in two earlier matches of the event.
Similar behavior is expected in the final, with little likelihood of both captains posing together with the trophy.
Pakistan men’s captain Salman Ali Agha said on Saturday that he welcomed his players being aggressive on the field ahead of the first-ever final of an Asia Cup between Pakistan and India.
Under fire after two comprehensive losses at the hands of India in the ongoing Asia Cup, the Green Shirts proved they were good enough to make it to the tournament’s final when they edged Bangladesh by 11 runs in their last Super Four outing on Thursday and all that matters now for the side are the title honours.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference in Dubai, Salman said: “Every individual has their own way. If a player wants to be aggressive, then why not? If you take aggression away from a fast bowler, then there’s nothing left.”
He was responding to an Indian journalist’s question about his responsibility as captain to keep his players’ actions in check.
“Every player knows how to deal with their emotions. I give the players a free hand unless they are disrespecting someone or causing disrespect to our country,” the Pakistani skipper added.
Speaking on the refusal of customary post-match handshakes by the Indian men’s team, Salman said: “I’ve been playing since 2007, I’ve never seen teams not shake hands … I don’t think there has been an instance of players not shaking hands.”
He added that on previous occasions, even under worse circumstances between the two countries, handshakes still took place.
The Pakistan captain added that he hoped that his team had “saved their best for the final”.
Asked about media reports from across the border that the Indian captain had refused to attend the captains’ photoshoot ahead of the final, Salman said: “That’s their choice, we have our own protocols to follow.
“If he (Yadav) wants to attend, he can attend — but if he doesn’t want to, then that’s up to him.”
On Friday, India captain Suryakumar Yadav was found guilty by the ICC of breaching the code of conduct for his comments that alluded to the brief military conflict between India and Pakistan this year, after their group stage match in the Asia Cup on September 14, ESPNcricinfo reported.