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India, Pakistan Players Avoid Meeting Despite Training Closer In Dubai

Arnav Chopra

India Practice Session Ahead of Asia Cup (Source: @ACCMedia1, @BCCI/X.com)India Practice Session Ahead of Asia Cup (Source: @ACCMedia1, @BCCI/X.com)

With a few days left for the blockbuster India-Pakistan clash in the Asia Cup 2025, both the teams were grinding it out in the middle. The Indian team were seen practising hard at the ICC Academy in Dubai, while Pakistan was at the adjacent ground.

India-Pakistan Teams Avoid Contact In Dubai

On Saturday evening, the Pakistan cricket team reached the ICC Academy in Dubai to prepare hard for their tri-series finale against Afghanistan in Sharjah. At the same time, interestingly enough, the Indian cricket team were already present at the venue, but at a different ground adjacent to where the Pakistan team were scheduled to train, according to ESPNCricinfo.

With all the furore in the past few months, both the players were not very far away from each other, as fans expected some pleasantries to be exchanged during the practice session. However, not to be, as both these players and sides did not engage in any banter that was previously seen as camaraderie between players before the relations soured between nations.

This was in contrast to the fact that players from both the sides enjoyed good conversations with each other. However, this time around, they refused to come down to meet each other or have a word with any other players from the opposition camp. As players from both the teams were highly engaged in the net sessions, they did not have time to meet anyone else apart from their group.

The Indian cricket team trained for quite some hours, where the players had a range-hitting session to find their touch, while the likes of Jitesh Sharma got a chance to bat, as he was being preferred in the side.

Indian Players Grind Hard At The ICC Academy

Talking about the net sessions, India spent quite some time having players hitting through the line at the Academy, where the bowling combination of Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, and Shivam Dube, alongside Hardik Pandya, had a go at the batters, giving it out to Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Tilak Varma, while skipper Suryakumar Yadav, Rinku Singh, and Jitesh Sharma had their chances as well.

Additionally, while facing local net bowlers, they also targeted the Indian bowlers, who participated in a four-hour-long session with some high-class performance training that included the Bronco test, where players had a full-fledged evening session on Saturday.

During the training session, it seemed evident that Jitesh Sharma would be getting the edge ahead of Sanju Samson, as he was given some additional time on the nets by coach Gautam Gambhir, who was advising Jitesh about his shots, such as scoops and pickups, which were premeditated. Additionally, Samson, on the other hand, was only given some throwdowns while he was sitting watching other players bat in the middle.

As for today, which is Sunday, it is a rest day for the Indian lineup, who are said to have two more practice sessions scheduled ahead of their opening game against the UAE, set to be played on September 10th in Dubai during the Asia Cup 2025.