Jasprit Bumrah and Iftikhar Ahmad - (Source : @Johns/X.com)
In a significant development, the match officials have been announced for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 clash between India and Pakistan on September 14. Notably, the two heavyweights will lock horns against each other at the Dubai International Stadium.
According to a report from Gaurav Gupta of The Times of India, Ruchira Palliyaguruge (Sri Lanka) & Masudur Rahman (Bangladesh). Further, Ahmad Pakteen will be the TV umpire, who will be joined by Izatullah Safi as the fourth umpire.
Zimbabwe's Andy Pycroft will be officiating as the match referee for the India-Pakistan match. Here is the complete list.
- On-field - Ruchira Palliyaguruge & Masudur Rahman
- TV Umpire - Ahmad Pakteen
- Fourth Umpire - Izatullah Safi
- Match Referee - Andy Pycroft
Ruchira And Masudur: Two Experienced Campaigners
Ruchira Palliyaguruge is an experienced on-field umpire who has officiated games in the 2019 ODI World Cup and also the 2022 women's World Cup.
The 57-year-old hails from Sri Lanka and has featured in over 160 international matches, which include 100 ODIs, for which he was felicitated by the Sri Lanka Cricket Board in July 2025.
Masudur Rahman hails from Bangladesh and has officiated in 70+ international games, including both men's and women's cricket. Masudur has the experience of being the on-field umpire on big occassions as he was also one of the officials during 2022 Asia Cup final in Dubai.
The selection panel has gone ahead with two experienced umpires for the India-Pakistan match, as tensions are expected to be high given the recent escalation of situations between the two nations.
ICC's Criteria To Appoint An On-Field Umpire
Here is the selection criteria of ICC for umpires in a series or multi-national events.
- Independent of the countries involved in the match/series
- The best available umpires for the match/series
- Better-performing umpires are used more often
- The frequency of individuals appointed to the same teams
- Workload considerations
.jpg?type=mq "Records Broken By Pakistan!")
