India vs Pakistan Asia Cup Match LIVE Updates: Pakistan cancelling press conference adds more intrigue to IND vs PAK blockbuster

India squad: Sanju Samson (wk), Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Jitesh Sharma, Rinku Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy

Pakistan squad: Mohammad Haris (wk), Salman Agha (c), Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Khushdil Shah, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed, Hussain Talat, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Salman Mirza, Sufiyan Muqeem

The video of Rohit and Rahul working on skills and strength training at the BCCI Centre of Excellence was released on social media.

As part of their preparation for the upcoming assignments, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul trained at the BCCI Centre Of Excellence focusing on skills and strength training 💪

Both players simulated the different conditions on offer at the CoE during their stint 👍 👍@ImRo45 |… pic.twitter.com/Ho6YE2011v

— BCCI (@BCCI) September 21, 2025

“I have come to file nomination. A panel is ready, with Mithun Manhas for the post of president, me for vice president, Devajit Saikia for secretary, Prabhtej Singh Bhatia for joint secretary and Raghuram Bhatt for treasurer. There is a nomination for the names decided for the governing council. So, a new body is being formed for the next tenure. Good luck to all,” Shukla said.

#WATCH | Mumbai: BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla says, "I have come to file nomination. A panel is ready, with Mithun Manhas for the post of president, me for vice president, Devajit Saikia for secretary, Prabhtej Singh Bhatia for joint secretary and Raghuram Bhatt for… pic.twitter.com/NthL09m6Ut

— ANI (@ANI) September 21, 2025

Sethi revealed the current PCB chief had made up his mind to boycott the Asia Cup after Indian players refused to shake hands with Pakistan players and ICC declined their request to remove match referee Andy Pycroft. However, the decision was overturned due to fear of heavy financial sanctions.

“The decision was already taken. The mood was such that, ‘under public pressure, let’s boycott. Let the Asia Cup go to hell, let the ICC go to hell.’ My attitude has always been that you should stay within legal boundaries and not leave the international arena. When I was called, my friends told me, ‘Don’t go, don’t support him.’ I hadn’t gone to support Mr. Mohsin Naqvi. I went to help the Pakistan Cricket Board,” Sethi told Samaa TV.

“If what he was attempting had succeeded, Pakistan would have suffered irreparable damage. We could have been sanctioned by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), penalized by the International Cricket Council (ICC), foreign players might have refused to play in the PSL, and we stood to lose $15 million in ACC broadcasting rights. It would have been an existential crisis for PCB.”

India and Pakistan have played 14 T20Is so far against each other.

India won: 11

Pakistan won: 3

Last 5 matches results: IND won – 4, PAK won – 1

Akmal feels Pakistan boycotting the press conference is a sign that the team is lacking confidence.

“This is the thing that needs to be faced. Show confidence, and come to meet the media. Players should have come. It will be known that we haven’t fallen in confidence and we shall do well. Salman Ali Agha should come with courage and face the media. If the captain goes on backfoot, the team also will go similarly. It tells me that there is no confidence, how will the team play the match?” Akmal said.

“If you had put your views across, then the pressure would have shifted to the Indian team. Their media would have questioned them. This was a great chance, he could have come, talked about the previous incident or talk about their preparation.”

Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has criticised the poor mind games from the Pakistan team and questioned the reason for boycotting the press conference.

“This is the wrong attitude. So you wont do PC after match also or won’t do before? Karenge na? The leader (Salman Ali Agha) should have come and could have said if the handshake question was posed, that we won’t have a handshake now. These guys don’t know how to play mind games,” Ali told Ary News.

“Who is the guilty party here? Suryakumar didn’t shake hands, na? Then why Agha isn’t turning up for the press conference and acting as if he and Pakistan are the guilty party?” Basit added.

BCCI continues to face voices of protest as India get ready to play the second match against Pakistan, only a few months after the Pahalgam attack.

Pakistan is still killing our soldiers guarding our borders & we continue to play the Asia cup matches with them. Truly ashamed as an Indian

— Swati Chaturvedi (@bainjal) September 21, 2025

“The Indian team hasn’t been challenged yet. The Super 4s is when we’ll find a little more competition. But so far, so good, nothing to complain about,” Dasgupta said. “Pakistan hasn’t played good cricket for a couple of years now. They have good individual players, but they haven’t clicked as a unit. That said, they’re always dangerous, and in this format, you can’t take anyone lightly. There’s still a clear difference in quality between India and Pakistan at the moment, but Pakistan remains a dangerous side.”

VIDEO | Asia Cup 2025: Former India cricketer and commentator Deep Dasgupta on India-Pakistan match says, "The Indian team hasn’t been challenged yet. The Super 4s is when we’ll find a little more competition. But so far, so good, nothing to complain about."

He added, "Pakistan… pic.twitter.com/xnjDDGSmBU

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 21, 2025

That’s an interesting question. After cancelling the press conference on the eve of the match, PCB head Mohsin Naqvi was seen meeting the players during the training session in Dubai. He was asked by the media about the cancelled press conference, but he refused to give a straight reply. After a lot of persistence, he only said, “…we will talk soon.”

Maybe Naqvi was suggesting that some sort of symbolic protest may take place from the Pakistan side during the Super 4 match vs India, just as Men In Blue players refused to shake hands in the first game. ( READ MORE)

It has been the burning topic ever since Indian players refused to shake hands with Pakistan players after their first match in the Asia Cup 2025. India captain Suryakumar Yadav, in the post-match press conference, explained that the decision was taken to express solidarity with the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack.

“Our government and BCCI – we were aligned today,” Suryakumar said. “Rest, we took a call [about not shaking hands]. We came here to just play the game. We have given a proper reply.”

“Few things in life are ahead of sportsman spirit also. I’ve [said] it at the presentation as well, we stand with all the victims of Pahalgam terror attacks, stand with their families, and express our solidarity.”