Sanju Samson vs Jitesh Sharma
Wicket-keeper batter Sanju Samson prefers opening the innings, but vice-captain Shubman Gill has already taken that spot alongside hard – hitting opening batter Abhishek Sharma. Tilak Verma will most likely come into bat the number three spot, so Samson will have to play in the middle order, where he has less experience. On the contrary, Jitesh Sharma’s role is that of a finisher and he performed brilliantly in the 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League where he played a crucial role in helping Royal Challengers Bangalore lift their maiden trophy.
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Taking the stats into consideration, Jitesh has a higher chance of donning the wicket-keeping gloves over Sanju since he has more experience than the latter in terms of playing the role of finishing off the innings. Now it remains to be seen whom Surya gives a chance between Jitesh & Samson.
Rinku Singh vs Shivam Dube
Only one of Rinku and Shivam Dube will get a chance to feature in the starting 11 to play the role of the finisher. The latter provides the aditional option of bowling along with batting, while Rinku recently gained form in UPT20 league 2025. However, Dube’s all-round abilities can give him an edge, but the decision will be taken according to the Dubai pitch.
Will Bumrah get rest or…
Bumrah has not played a T20 International match for the Indian team since the conclusion of the 2024 ICC T20 Men’s World Cup. It remains to be seen whether he gets a chance against UAE or he is directly seen against Pakistan. India has seam options in the form of Arshdeep Singh, Hardik Pandya and Harshit Rana to compensate for his absence
India’s Asia Cup squad
Suryakumar Yadav (captain),, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dubey, Axar Patel, Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Verma, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy
Standby players: Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Prasidh Krishna, and Washington Sundar
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