Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav has showered praises upon Pakistan left-arm pacer and star bowler Shaheen Afridi in the lead-up to the highly anticipated game between the arch-rivals in the Asia Cup 2025 Super Four round on September 21.
“Shaheen [Afridi] is playing well, a slight error can be expensive [against him],” Kuldeep added while speaking at a press conference, also saying that the motivation of the players was also high in the game against Pakistan.
The two teams clashed against one another on September 14 in their Group A match, with the Men in Blue winning by seven wickets after pursuing the Green Shirts’ 128-run target.
Group A matches are still pending, although India and Pakistan have already qualified.
India face Oman in their last group-stage encounter on Friday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Group B matches ended on Thursday with Sri Lanka going through unbeaten, having won all three games to take top position with six points.
Bangladesh took second spot with two victories, earning four points despite a negative net run rate.
The Super Four phase starts on Saturday in Dubai when Bangladesh meet Sri Lanka. On Sunday, arch-rivals India and Pakistan face each other again at the same ground.
Monday has been designated a rest day before Pakistan meet Sri Lanka at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on September 23.
The highly anticipated Pakistan vs India clash is eagerly awaited by cricket fans globally not just because of the history of their age-old rivalry, but also since their first encounter in the current tournament was tainted spiralled into a major controversy after International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee Andy Pycroft asked both teams to desist from the traditional handshake.
India didn’t let it go either. The team also declined to shake hands when the match was over. This did not go down well with the Pakistani team. They filed a protest with the ICC, and things escalated.
But days after the match, the referee issued an apology, after which Pakistan agreed to carry on with the ongoing event.
Asia Cup 2025 Super Four matches
- Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka — Dubai, September 20
- Pakistan vs India — Dubai, 21st September
- Pakistan vs Sri Lanka — Abu Dhabi, 23rd September
- Bangladesh vs India — Dubai, 24th September
- Pakistan vs Bangladesh — Dubai, 25th September
- India vs Sri Lanka — Dubai, 26th September
- Final — 28th September
