Amid smiles and the handshake, India, Pakistan captains promise fireworks

Soaring temperatures outside made the short walk to the Dubai International Stadium from the parking lot as difficult as dealing with scorching turners on a deteriorating Test match track.

- Rituraj Borkakoty [e-mail]

Inside the press conference room, it was all cool and calm as journalists waited for the big moment — the arrival of the eight captains for the Asia Cup press conference.

But all eyes were fixed on just two men — Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav and his Pakistani counterpart, Salman Agha — as though the captains of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Oman, and the UAE were mere footnotes in the 2025 Asia Cup narrative.

In a way, the attention on Suryakumar and Salman was understandable as it’s been only a few months since their nuclear-armed countries came to the brink of an all-out war.

On-field aggression

While India open their campaign against the UAE on Wednesday, there have already been question marks about whether the nationalistic emotions will spill onto the field when Suryakumar’s team lock horns with Pakistan in the big clash on September 14.

"Aggression is always there on the field, and without aggression, you cannot play the game," Suryakumar said.