Pakistan ask India to field in Under-19 Asia Cup final

India are without their leading wicket-taker, Ishan Sood, who has a back niggle, and have replaced him in the XI with Chigurupati Venkata Toss Pakistan chose to bat vs India Pakistan captain Farhan Yousaf won the toss and chose to bat first against India in the final of the Under-19 Asia Cup final in Al Amerat. Pakistan head into the game with an unchanged XI, while India have swapped out their leading wicket-taker, Ishan Sood, who is suffering from a back niggle, for medium-fast bowler Chigurupati Venkata. The game is being played on a fresh pitch, which "looks good for batting," Yousaf said at the toss. The two teams are facing off in the final of the Under-19 tournament for the second consecutive year. Pakistan are the defending champions - they beat India by a whopping 191 runs in the final in Dubai in 2025 - and have won all four games in this edition, including a come-from-behind win against India earlier in the group stage. They also secured a convincing nine-wicket win against Bangladesh in the semi-final after Rizwanullah's five-for in the first innings, while India cruised past Afghanistan in a chase of 230, led by their captain Lakshya Raichandani's 93. India: 1 Lakshya Raichandani (capt), 2 Aaryavir Sehwag, 3 VK Vineeth, 4 Yashbardhan Chauhan, 5 Arjun Rajat, 6 Anvay Dravid (wk), 7 Manal Chauhan, 8 Mohit Ulva, 9 Aryan Savsani, 10 Kavya Paresh Patel, 11 Ishan Sood Pakistan: 1 Usman Khan, 2 Hayam Khan, 3 Abdul Qadir, 4 Ahmed Hussain, 5 Farhan Yousaf (capt), 6 Hamza Zahoor (wk), 7 Hasnain Abbas Dar, 8 Mohammad Sayyam, 9 Ali Raza, 10 Niqab Shafiq, 11 Rizwanullah