India launch their Asia Cup 2025 campaign on Wednesday against UAE at the Dubai International Stadium. Who will India field in their tournament opener remains a hot topic as the Men In Blue play their first T20I in seven months.
The return of Shubman Gill is anticipated to change the batting order and may lead to Sanju Samson sacrifice his opening slot for the newly elevated vice-captain. If that is the case then Jitesh Sharma will walk in to the playing XI, leaving Samson - who did a splendid job in the absence of Gill - in the bench. Batting lower down the order is uncharted territory for Samson, and in comparison Jitesh has thrived, batting mostly in such positions.
Meanwhile, if we switch focus to the middle-order the onus will be on Tilak Verma and Suryakumar Yadav to deliver as per the demand of the situation.
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Coming to all-rounders, with Ravindra Jadeja already retired eyes will be on a proven star Axar Patel. Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya is another crucial component in this department.
India's lower-order batting is strengthened by the addition of Rinku Singh, who showed great form in the recent UPT20 league.
Among the bowlers mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy and premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah are almost certainties. Spinner Kuldeep Yadav and left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh are predicted to compete for the final spot. Kuldeep might have the advantage because of spin-friendly surfaces in the UAE.
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India has a strong record heading into the showpiece event. Having already won the Asia Cup eight times, the Men In Blue will look to stretch their dominance in the continental showdown.
India's probable XI vs UAE: Shubman Gill (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Verma, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh
Asia Cup 2025 squads:
India: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh
UAE: Muhammad Waseem (c), Alishan Sharafu, Aryansh Sharma, Asif Khan, Dhruv Parashar, Ethan D'Souza, Haider Ali, Harshit Kaushik, Junaid Siddique, Matiullah Khan, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Zohaib, Rahul Chopra, Rohid Khan, Simranjeet Singh, Saghir Khan
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