Sanju Samson retains spot despite Shubman Gill's inclusion in Asia Cup opener

There was plenty of chatter regarding India's opening pair-whether Sanju Samson would play-following Shubman Gill's addition to the squad as vice-captain. The suspense finally ended on Wednesday, with both Samson and Gill included in the final XI. Jitesh Sharma, who was also in contention for the wicketkeeper's role, did not find a place in the team.

Meanwhile, India captain Suryakumar Yadav opted to bowl after winning the toss at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. "We'll bowl first. Looks a nice fresh wicket. Humid also today, might be dew later. If we get an opportunity, we're flexible to do anything but today we want to bowl. We came here early, had 3-4 good practice sessions and also a day off," Suryakumar said at the toss.

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Samson had built a flourishing opening partnership with Abhishek Sharma in recent months, the pair adding 267 runs in 12 T20I innings at a strike rate of over 170. The Kerala batter has 861 T20I runs at a strike rate of 142, including three hundreds, and India are yet to lose a T20I series since the 2024 T20 World Cup with him as opener. In Dubai, however, Samson has been shifted to the middle order, with Gill returning at the top after a year’s absence.

Gill, who has 578 T20I runs at a strike rate of 139.29, also comes back as India’s vice-captain. His promotion, coupled with Samson's modest return in India’s last home series, seems to have prompted the reshuffle. Jitesh Sharma, who earned a recall on the back of a standout IPL 2025 campaign with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, missed out as the management preferred Samson’s experience behind the stumps.

Tilak Varma retains his place at No. 3, with captain Suryakumar Yadav at No. 4. Samson is set to bat at No. 5, while Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube and Axar Patel add depth to the middle and lower order.

India’s bowling attack will be led by Jasprit Bumrah, with Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav providing the spin options. Notably, Arshdeep Singh, who recently broke into the top 10 of the ICC T20I bowling rankings, has not been included in the playing XI.

India playing XI for the UAE clash: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson(w), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy