India have won the toss and chosen to bowl first against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in their opening fixture of the Asia Cup 2025 in Dubai. The clash marks the start of Group A, which also features Pakistan and Oman.
Currently ranked No. 1 in T20 internationals, India head into the tournament as strong favourites. This match also carries extra significance as it is the team’s first appearance in a multi-nation T20I competition under the leadership of captain Suryakumar Yadav and new head coach Gautam Gambhir.
Despite their dominance on paper, the Indian camp faces a few selection dilemmas, especially around the inclusion of vice-captain Shubman Gill and the choice between wicketkeeper-batters Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma.
India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson(w), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy
UAE (Playing XI): Muhammad Waseem(c), Alishan Sharafu, Muhammad Zohaib, Rahul Chopra(w), Asif Khan, Harshit Kaushik, Haider Ali, Dhruv Parashar, Muhammad Rohid Khan, Junaid Siddique, Simranjeet Singh
