India captain Suryakumar Yadav and Bangladesh skipper Jaker Ali shook hands at the toss ahead of their Asia Cup Super Fours clash in Dubai on Wednesday, continuing the ‘tradition’ of shaking hands with every team, skipper and official except Pakistan.The gesture came after Suryakumar had twice avoided handshakes with Pakistan’s Salman Agha during this tournament, first in the group stage and then again in the Super Fours clash. On the previous occasion, he chose to greet Ravi Shastri and match referee Andy Pycroft instead, leaving the Pakistani captain waiting.
In the game against Oman too, Suryakumar shared an embrace with opposition skipper Jatinder Singh ahead of the math in Group A.This time too, there was no hesitation. Suryakumar shook hands with Jaker Ali before moving on with the formalities, putting the spotlight once again on a controversy that had dominated discussions around India’s earlier fixtures.In terms of the game, Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bowl first. Speaking before the game, assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate highlighted the challenge posed by Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman, who entered the match on the verge of a major milestone.“Yeah, he’s a champion. He’s been around a long time. A very skilful bowler. We obviously know the skill sets that he brings,” Doeschate said. “There are many good players on the Bangladesh side. And Mustafiz is probably their premium bowler. So yeah, we rate him high.”Mustafizur, with 149 T20I wickets, is one scalp away from becoming only the fourth bowler in history to reach 150. Against India, however, he has struggled, managing just eight wickets in 13 appearances at an average above 57. His Asia Cup 2025 form, though, has been impressive, having taken seven wickets in four games at an average of 15, with best figures of 3/20.
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A win for India tonight will mean qualification for the Asia Cup final, while it will also signal the end for Sri Lanka’s tournament.
