India legend leaves out Samson in explosive India XI for Asia Cup clash vs UAE: 'Get scared with that opening combination'

R Ashwin did not pick Sanju Samson in his team as he predicted India’s playing XI for the first match against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday in the Asia Cup 2025. A debate over who should be picked as Abhishek Sharma’s partner at the top of India’s batting order has been raging for a while in the Indian cricketing circles.

Ever since Shubman Gill was picked as the vice-captain for the T20I side, Samson fans have been fearing that the Kerala batter will be demoted back to the bench despite the 30-year-old scoring three hundreds in the format since last year. Gill, who impressed as India’s new Test captain in England, has always been a reliable batter in the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he has shown that he can score quick runs as well.

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With the Indian think tank preparing backups for all senior players, Gill’s return to the T20I side is seen as an indication that he will replace captain Suryakumar Yadav in the role in the future. SKY himself refused to confirm Samson's inclusion in the playing 11 on the eve of the match.

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Ashwin also thinks it will be Abhishek Sharma and Gill who will open for India in the Asia Cup 2025 opener in Dubai. “Shubman Gil and Abhishek Sharma. Folks get scared with that opening combination. Shubman Gill knows he needs to make runs, and he will want to make runs. He is a run machine. He can make big runs at a lower strike rate,” Ashwin said.

“Abhishek Sharma will tee off at one end. Shubman Gill could be the glue around which the team is built up. In today’s times, there is not a lot of need to become the glue in T20 cricket. But Shubman has it in him to play conventional cricket and still make a 100 off 55 balls,” Ashwin added.

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Ashwin also did not pick Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh, but added Jitesh Sharma and Kuldeep Yadav to his playing XI. Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, and Jasprit Bumrah were other bowlers he opted for.

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Ashwin’s India XI: Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah.