Shoaib Akhtar rubbished the reports of low ticket sales for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 match between India and Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.
Several media reports are stating that the tickets are still up for grabs, and there is low buzz for the upcoming fixture due to the political tensions between the two countries. Indian fans are not pleased with the match going ahead despite the mood of the nation after the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.
Earlier this year, a terror attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, killed 26 tourists. India then launched Operation Sindoor, targeting terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). A war-like situation erupted between the two nations, which even led to the suspension of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Pakistan Super League (PSL) for more than a week.
Akhtar stated that emotions are running really high as the two teams will be meeting on the field for the first time after the war. He also said that the Dubai Stadium will be sold for the upcoming contest between the archrivals.
“Emotions are running really high. Now we (Pakistan) are meeting India for the first time post-war. Think about it,” Akhtar said on PTV Sports.
“There is no way that the match isn’t housefull. Someone said to me that the tickets are going unsold. I said, ‘What are you saying?’ Everything is sold; these are all the external talks,” he added.
On the other hand, former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik stated that the ticket prices are really high for the contest, and this might be the reason behind seats still being empty for now.
“The ticket prices are really high,” he said during the same discussion.
Tensions on the field
It would be interesting to see how players from both teams go about their business on the field on Sunday. There is a lot of chatter on the outside regarding the game taking place after what happened earlier this year.
Earlier this week, Suryakumar Yadav and Salman Ali Agha exchanged handshakes during the captain’s press conference; however, it was an awkward atmosphere.
Suryakumar was criticised on social media by fans in India for shaking the hand of his counter-part. However, after the win against the UAE, the India captain stated that his team are excited to play against Pakistan in the Asia Cup.