If it’s a multi-team tournament featuring India and Pakistan, except both teams to be pooled in the easier group. Yup, that’s right, Group A of this year’s Asia Cup has India and Pakistan along with hosts UAE and tournament debutants Oman. On the other hand, the group of death comprises Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Hong Kong.
The reasons for this are obvious. No matter what the governments of the two counties say, the tournament organisers and host broadcasters need India vs Pakistan to remain the big draw, and to play as much as possible, hence the easier draw. This has been the case since the two countries stopped playing each other bilaterally in 2012-13.
Before the big match on September 14, however, India have to get past hosts UAE in Dubai on Wednesday. It should be a straightforward win, even accounting for India’s 37-day gap from international cricket, because as spirited as UAE are, the fact is that they lost all of their matches during a recent home T20I tri-series featuring Afghanistan and winners Pakistan.
So far, India’s practice sessions at the ICC Academy in Dubai have hinted at some clear patterns regarding the team combination. Sanju Samson, who as an opener since 2024 has averaged almost 35 with a strike-rate of nearly 183, and with three centuries, may have to sit out on account of Shubman Gill being recalled, and that too as vice-captain.
During India’s second practice session, after some basic stretching and fielding drills, Samson reportedly looked on for almost two hours as Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Surkakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma and Rinku Singh batted. All signs are that Gill and Abhishek will open, and it also seems like Jitesh will be the designated wicketkeeper in the middle order.
With Jasprit Bumrah back – after 438 days in T20Is, for the record – India have their leader, with all due respect to Arshdeep Singh who is one shy of becoming the first Indian bowler to take 100 wickets in T20Is. Hardik Pandya will be the third pace option, and it could be that Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy feature in the same 11, unless India opt to go in with just Varun and Axar Patel as the spin options, and bat Harshit Rana at number eight.
A condensed format, more pressure than ODIs, and the shadow of the T20 World Cup looming large. India will have to shake off the rust and hit the ground running against UAE in Abu Dhabi.
It’s a big test for SKY, leading the team for the first time in a tournament, and having not played cricket since June before he flew to Germany for sports hernia surgery. He will turn 35 this weekend, has struggled for runs in his last eight innings for India, and must find ways to stay ahead of the curve before the World Cup.
All in all, an exciting time for India to resume international cricket.
For UAE, who enter their second Asia Cup and first in the T20I format, this is a chance to woo their home supporters and prove they belong here. It was only a few months ago that they beat Bangladesh 2-1 after dropping the opening match, but during the recent tri-series they blew chances to dominate and close out matches, which underlines how a lack of chances against higher-ranked opponents does impact teams such as UAE.
They have talent, and players who turn out in various T20 leagues, so it’s not a matter of skill with UAE. It’s about holding their nerve against teams like India and Pakistan, countries from where UAE’s squad has vital representation. The Dubai crowd on Wednesday will surely wear a blue-tinged hue, but let’s hope that for the contest’s sake, UAE get their home crowd cheering louder than usual.
India likely XI: 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Tilak Varma, 4 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 5 Axar Patel, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 8 Harshit Rana, 9 Jasprit Bumrah, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Varun Chakravarthy
UAE likely XI: 1 Alishan Sharafu, 2 Muhammad Waseem (capt), 3 Muhammad Zohaib, 4 Rahul Chopra (wk), 5 Asif Khan, 6 Harshit Kaushik, 7 Dhruv Parashar, 8 Saghir Khan, 9 Haider Ali, 10 Junaid Siddique, 11 Simranjeet Singh
