Abhishek Sharma To Shaheen Shah Afridi: 7 Players To Watch Out For In India-Pakistan Asia Cup 2025 Final | Cricket News

Eight-time champions India will face arch-rivals Pakistan in the final of the 2025 edition of the Asia Cup 2025 on Sunday, September 28. The high-voltage match scheduled to take place at Dubai International Cricket Stadium will start at 8:00 PM IST. World No. 1 T20I team India will start as favourites to win the title, but Suryakumar Yadav’s men can’t afford to take Salman Ali Agha-led side lightly.

While India have won all six matches played so far in the tournament, Pakistan, apart from suffering two defeats against India, somehow managed to get the better of Oman, UAE, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in their remaining four fixtures.

The Pakistani team, which last won the Asia Cup title in 2012 under Misbah-ul-Haq’s leadership, will be eager to take revenge for two back-to-back defeats against India on Sunday and become Asia Cup winners for the third time in 41 years.

The final match in Dubai is expected to be a nail-biting contest, so ahead of the big game, here’s a look at 7 key players to watch out for on Sunday.

Abhishek Sharma (India) – 309 runs

World No. 1 T20I batter Abhishek Sharma is playing as an opener for Team India in the Asia Cup 2025. In the last three matches, he has scored three half-centuries for Men in Blue. The 25-year-old left-handed batter, who has 309 runs to his credit in six matches, would like to come up with another big show on Sunday and help India win the Asia Cup title for the record-extending ninth time.

Sahibzada Farhan (Pakistan) – 160 runs

Sahibzada Farhan is Pakistan’s highest run getter in the Asia Cup 2025. The right-handed batter top-scored for Men in Green in both the matches played against India in the ongoing tournament, and on Sunday, he would like to make a big impact with the bat once again.

Kuldeep Yadav (India) – 13 wickets

With 13 wickets to his name in six matches, Kuldeep Yadav tops the list of bowlers with the most wickets in the Asia Cup 2025. The Kanpur-based cricketer, in fact, also holds the record of taking the most wickets in one edition of the Asia Cup T20Is. Kuldeep dismissed three Pakistani batters in the Group A match played on September 14, and Indian team management will have expectations of similar performance from him in the summit clash as well.

Saim Ayub (Pakistan) – 23 runs, 8 wickets

Saim Ayub is horribly out of form with the bat in the Asia Cup 2025. He has played all six matches so far for Pakistan but could only manage to score 23 runs. Saim has four ducks to his name in the Asia Cup 2025, but despite that, he has been retained in the playing XI and is all set to feature in the final as well. Even though Saim has failed to deliver with the bat, he has impressed with his bowling and has 8 wickets to his credit.

Jasprit Bumrah (India) – 5 wickets

Jasprit Bumrah will lead India’s pace attack in the final of the Asia Cup 2025. He has played four matches in the tournament so far and dismissed 5 batters. In the two matches against Pakistan, Bumrah failed to perform as per expectations, but despite that, he will be India’s key player in the summit clash. The 31-year-old cricketer from Ahmedabad overall has 94 wickets to his name in 74 T20I matches.

Shaheen Shah Afridi (Pakistan) – 83 runs, 9 wickets

Shaheen Shah Afridi is Pakistan’s best player in Asia Cup 2025 both the bat and the ball. In four innings of six matches, he has scored 83 runs with a strike rate of 188.63 and dismissed nine batters. Even though he remained wicketless in the two matches against India, Pakistani fans will expect the left-armer to give the side a flying start by getting rid of Indian openers, especially in-form Abhishek.

Haris Rauf (Pakistan) – 9 wickets

Haris Rauf is Pakistan’s highest wicket-taker in T20Is, and in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025, he has 9 wickets to his name in four matches. Rauf picked up two wickets against each against the UAE, India and Sri Lanka and dismissed three Bangladeshi batters on Thursday, September 25. In the final, the Rawalpindi-born cricketer could trouble Indian batters with his pace.