India host the hosts in Dubai

by Pratyush Sinha • Last updated on

Full-strength India will start as favourites. © AFP

It feels a touch ironic that India, the designated hosts of the Asia Cup 2025, should be "hosting" UAE in Dubai. But given the cloud of uncertainty that lingered over the tournament in the months leading up, the idea of having not one but two kinds of hosts - and of the event happening at all - already feels like a small victory.

This is only the second time India and UAE will meet in T20Is. The first was back in the 2016 Asia Cup, when the UAE crawled to 81/9, a total that India mopped up inside 10.1 overs. The contest was so lopsided that Rohit Sharma walked away with Player of the Match for a 28-ball 39.

Nine years on, the gap has narrowed but not nearly enough. UAE have moved forward, helped in no small measure by the ILT20 and the exposure it has offered their players, but India, in contrast, have surged. The batting has shed its inhibitions, freed first by Rohit Sharma's freedom template and then supercharged by the IPL's Impact Player rule. What was once a culture of caution is now anything but.

The results since the T20 World Cup win have underlined that shift, even with Rohit no longer being a part of the T20I setup. India have won 17 of their 20 T20Is in this fresh World Cup cycle, including all five bilateral series they have played, three of them away. And against UAE, they arrive looking every bit the favourites.

If there is any solace for the underdogs, it lies in the fact that India haven't played a T20I in over seven months, and that the venues in UAE have not always been kind to them. The memory of a 10-wicket hammering by Pakistan in 2021, India's only defeat to their neighbours in an ICC tournament, still lingers. A year later, defeats to Pakistan and Sri Lanka denied them a place in the Asia Cup final.

That is not to suggest this is an even contest on paper. India's resources, both human and financial, tower over anything UAE can marshal but for a side playing at home, at venues where their cricketers have rubbed shoulders with the world's best through the ILT20, there will be a quiet confidence of at least making India sweat. Stranger things have happened in cricket, no less in Dubai.

When: September 10 at 6:30 PM Local | 8 PM IST

Where: Dubai International Stadium, Dubai

What to expect: Some grass on the pitch. Unlike the Champions Trophy earlier this year, when India turned up with as many as four spinners on worn-out surfaces, this is the start of the cricket season in the country and the pacers can expect to have more of a say. The forecast, though, is far less kind, with "excessive heat" and a high of 42 degrees expected. The temperature at match time is still set to be around 36, which should test the players as well as the spectators.

Team watch

India:The team management still has a few calls to make, but the nets have offered clues. Shivam Dube appears the frontrunner for an allrounder's slot, the hint of grass on the pitch working in his favour. Behind the stumps, Jitesh Sharma seems set to take the gloves, which in turn squeezes Sanju Samson out, with Abhishek Sharma and the returning vice-captain Shubman Gill likely to open. Axar Patel should be the No.8, which means the final piece is the spin puzzle, a toss-up between Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav.

Injuries/Unavailability: No news of any injuries in India's 15-man squad.

Tactics & Match-ups: Can Suryakumar Yadav rediscover his golden touch? While he was among the runs in IPL, his returns for India have been more modest since the start of 2024: 457 runs in 22 innings, an average of barely 22 and a SR nearly 20 points below his IPL numbers.

Probable XI: Shubman Gill (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Hardik Pandya, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy

UAE:Muhammad Waseem at the top and Asif Khan in the middle order are power houses with the bat and a lot will depend on them delivering the goods once again.

Injuries/Unavailability: Everyone is reported to be fit and available.

Tactics & Match-ups: Skipper Muhammad Wasim is UAE's leading run-getter in T20Is, recording three of the four hundreds for his country in the format. He was also Player of the Series in UAE's recent 2-1 win over Bangladesh, and will be a key wicket India would target.

Probable XI: Muhammad Waseem (C), Alishan Sharafu, Muhammad Zohaib, Rahul Chopra (wk), Asif Khan, Harshit Kaushik, Muhammad Farooq, Saghir Khan, Haider Ali, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Jawadullah

Did you know?

- India have won six of their 10 T20Is in UAE. Those wins have come against Pakistan, Afghanistan (2), Hong Kong, Namibia and Scotland.

- Waseem is currently only behind Rohit Sharma's tally in the most number of sixes hit in T20Is.

- Kuldeep Yadav has not featured in a T20I post the 2024 World Cup.

We have been doing that preparation from the last couple of months to play such a great event. I am very confident that we are ready to accept this challenge: Muhammad Waseem, UAE captain

We are playing T20 as a team after a long time. But we were here three-four days back, had some good time together as a team, and we are really looking forward to this tournament: Suryakumar Yadav, India captain

© Cricbuzz

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