Asia Cup 2025: New evidence confirms Sanju Samson’s catch was clean, Fakhar Zaman adjudged out correctly

Published - 22 Sept 2025, 15:21 IST | Updated - 22 Sept 2025, 15:21 IST

The India-Pakistan face-off on Sunday, September 21, in the Asia Cup 2025 witnessed a controversial moment early in the game when batter Fakhar Zaman was given out in the third over. The Pakistan player was visibly upset by the decision and was seen protesting as he made his way back to the dressing room. Experts from Pakistan initially claimed that the dismissal was incorrect and argued that the umpire had been hasty in his call.

However, new evidence has now confirmed that India’s wicketkeeper Sanju Samson’s catch was clean and that Fakhar was rightly dismissed. The incident occurred on the third ball of the third over, with Pakistan batting first in the Super Four clash. Fakhar, attempting an off-side shot against an off-cutter from Hardik Pandya, edged the ball straight towards the keeper.

Samson made a slight dive and caught the ball , but because it was so close to the ground, the on-field umpires referred the decision to the third umpire, with the on-field call being out. After reviewing multiple angles, the third umpire upheld the decision, adjudging Fakhar out. The left-hander appeared stunned as he  walked back to the pavilion visibly frustrated.

Pakistan veterans Shoaib Akhtar and Misbah-ul-Haq initially disagreed with the decision. Akhtar even challenged the ICC to show footage from all 26 camera angles, while Misbah felt the on-field umpire was too quick to make the decsion. Both had believed that the ball had touched the ground before reaching Samson’s gloves.

It looks like it bounced before reaching the keeper: Salman

However, fresh footage circulated on social media clearly showed Samson’s gloves beneath the ball, confirming that it was indeed a legitimate catch. The zoomed-in clip ultimately vindicated the third umpire’s decision and Samson's claim to the catch. Earlier, Pakistan captain Salman Agha had questioned the legality of the catch, claiming it disrupted Pakistan’s momentum.

"I don't know about the decision. It's obviously the umpire's job. Umpires can make mistakes. And I have no problem with that. But it does look like it bounced before it was carried to the keeper," he said in the presser after India beat Pakistan by six wickets,” said Salman.

"But I might be wrong. I don't know. You can say the way he was batting, if he batted throughout the powerplay, we probably would have scored 190. But yeah, that's the umpire's call. And they can make mistakes. I don't know. To me, it bounced before it reached the keeper,” he added.