Asia Cup 2025: No Handshakes or Interaction Between India & Pakistan As Teams Train Separately Ahead of High-Stakes Clash

With the Asia Cup underway, both the Indian and Pakistani cricket teams have been seen training at separate corners of the ICC Academy in Dubai. The lack of interaction between the rivals has intensified the hype for their high-profile clash on September 14.

September 8, 2025: As the Asia Cup 2025 begins, all eight sides are getting ready for the continental tournament. The cricketing world’s focus has moved to the UAE. Hong Kong and Afghanistan will play in the first match of the tournament today in Abu Dhabi. However, all eyes are on Team India preparations for their highly-anticipated encounter versus Pakistan, their biggest adversary.

The guys in blue have been working hard at the ICC Cricket Academy in Dubai, where head coach Gautam Gambhir is in charge. Reports say that the team had a very tough three-hour practice, during which the batters spent almost an hour at the nets and the whole team did a “bronco drill” to be ready for the heat.

The long-awaited India-Pakistan match will take place in Dubai on September 14. This will be their first meeting since the Pulwama attack, which made ties worse. Even though there were some mixed reactions at first, the match will go on because of a government policy that lets India take part in international events with countries with which it has strained bilateral relations.

The Asia Cup 2025 will be played in the T20I format, and there will be games at two places: the Dubai International Cricket Stadium and the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. On Tuesday, September 10, Team India, led by Suryakumar Yadav, will play their first game against the UAE. This will be followed by the big game versus Pakistan.