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India finally won a toss – their first in 16 matches across formats – and chose to field against UAE in Dubai, opening their Asia Cup campaign with a team sheet that raised a few eyebrows.
Captain Suryakumar Yadav explained the call straight away. “I think there could be a bit of dew later, so we’ll have a chase,” he said at the toss, on a typically humid Gulf evening.
Opposite number Muhammad Waseem nodded. “We would have bowled first as well,” the UAE skipper admitted, expecting the new ball to nip around for a few overs.
Selection talking points
Shubman Gill’s return at the top meant Sanju Samson stayed in the XI but shifted to No.5, a slot often occupied by Jitesh Sharma in recent series. Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar has long championed Samson: “Samson deserves a slot in the top three,” Bangar insisted on television this week. Yet the management clearly value the keeper-batter’s flexibility.
India also squeezed both wrist-spinners into the side. Kuldeep Yadav joins Varun Chakravarthy, giving Suryakumar three spin options when Axar Patel’s left-arm orthodox is included. With that extra spin depth, India preferred batting insurance in Shivam Dube ahead of a second specialist seamer such as Arshdeep Singh or Harshit Rana. It leaves Jasprit Bumrah as the lone out-and-out quick, with Hardik Pandya expected to share the new ball.
Cricket analyst Aakash Chopra noted on commentary, “Kuldeep and Varun together can be high-risk, high-reward; if they find rhythm, two mystery angles are hard to line up against.”
UAE tweak their balance
The hosts made one alteration from their recent loss to Afghanistan, bringing in off-spinning all-rounder Dhruv Parashar for leg-spinner Muhammad Farooq. The move lengthens their batting without sacrificing overs of spin, a sensible hedge on a surface that usually slows as the night progresses.
Teams
India: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah.
UAE: Muhammad Zohaib, Muhammad Waseem (capt), Asif Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Rahul Chopra (wk), Dhruv Parashar, Harshit Kaushik, Haider Ali, Muhammad Rohid, Junaid Siddique, Simranjeet Singh.
What to watch
• How quickly Bumrah and Pandya settle with the new ball could shape the powerplay.
• Samson’s middle-order stint is under the microscope, particularly with pressure from Jitesh.
• The Kuldeep-Varun combination offers contrasting trajectories; UAE’s handling of spin, often their strength, is essential.
It is an opener without knockout stakes, yet both sides sense an early marker can ease qualification worries. For India, ending that long toss drought is already a small relief; the real questions, though, begin once the ball is in Bumrah’s hand.
