Rinku Singh has been included in India's playing XI for the Asia Cup 2025 final against Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday, September 28. The southpaw has replaced the injured all-rounder Hardik Pandya in the lineup. Pandya has missed out due to a niggle.As a result, Rinku will play his first game of the ongoing continental event. The left-handed batter played his last T20I against England in February earlier this year. The 27-year-old holds an impressive record with the bat, scoring 546 runs in 24 innings at a strike rate of 161.06, including three half-centuries. The part-time off-spinner has also bagged two wickets in his only outing with the ball against Sri Lanka last year.At the toss, skipper Suryakumar Yadav said (via Cricbuzz):“Unfortunately, Hardik misses out due to a niggle, Arshdeep and Harshit also miss out. Bumrah, Dube, and Rinku come in.”Hardik Pandya’s absence comes as a huge loss for the Men in Blue. The medium pacer has been crucial with the ball. The right-hander is equally brilliant with the bat. The 31-year-old has amassed 1860 runs and bagged 98 wickets in 120 matches in the format.India opt to bowl against Pakistan in Asia Cup 2025 finalIndia captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and chose to bowl against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025 final. Justifying his decision, he said (via Cricbuzz):“We are looking to bowl first. It looks like a good wicket. The wicket gets better under lights. We have been batting well first, but we would like to chase today.”Apart from Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah and Shivam Dube have replaced Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana in the playing XI.On the other hand, Salman Agha's Pakistan picked an unchanged side from their previous win over Bangladesh.The defending champions, India, have already beaten Pakistan two times in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025, winning the group-stage and Super 4 stage games by seven and six wickets, respectively. They will now be keen to register a hat-trick of wins against the Men in Green in their quest for a record nine trophies. Meanwhile, Pakistan has won the tournament twice. It's worth mentioning that Sri Lanka is the second-most successful team in the Asia Cup with six titles.Follow the IND vs PAK Asia Cup 2025 final live score and updates here.