India vs UAE, Asia Cup 2025: Sanju Samson in focus as India begin campaign; predicted XI, live streaming details

All eyes will be on Sanju Samson and Shubman Gill as India’s Asia Cup 2025 T20 campaign starts today (10 September, Wednesday) in Dubai against the hosts, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The India vs UAE match will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, and it will start at 8 PM IST.

While Samson and Abhishek Sharma have been India’s openers in the recent matches, Gill has made a comeback to the Indian T20I side as a vice-captain and has been tipped to replace Samson in the playing XI in the first match.

India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav refused to confirm Samson's inclusion on the eve of the match. “We are actually taking really good care of him [Samson]. And don’t worry. We will make the right decision tomorrow,” Suryakumar said at the captains’ meet when asked about Samson and India’s possible playing XI.

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IND predicted XI for UAE match

Nonetheless, as reported earlier, Samson has been among the last players to practice in the nets sessions and it seems highly likely that Gill will open alongside Sharma, while Jitesh Sharma will play as the wicket-keeper. But playing Jitesh would have India to pick only one seam-bowling all-rounder between Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube.

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Pandya is a proven match-winner, so he would play for sure. Dube may also get a chance, if India decide to play just one pacer. Dube can also miss out if India opt for Rinku Singh. But if India opt for three spinners, then both Dube and Rinku can miss out.

Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy and Jasprit Bumrah are certain to be a part of the playing XI.

India predicted XI: Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah

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UAE predicted XI: Muhammad Waseem (c), Alishan Sharafu, Rahul Chopra (wk), Asif Khan, Ethan DSouza, Harshit Kaushik, Dhruv Parashar, Haider Ali, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Rohid Khan, Junaid Siddique

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India full squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh

UAE full squad: Muhammad Waseem (c), Alishan Sharafu, Aryansh Sharma (wk), Asif Khan, Dhruv Parashar, Ethan D’Souza, Haider Ali, Harshit Kaushik, Junaid Siddique, Matiullah Khan, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Zohaib, Rahul Chopra (wk), Rohid Khan, Simranjeet Singh and Saghir Khan

IND vs UAE Asia Cup 2025: Dubai pitch report

The Dubai pitch curator has already spoken about the danger of dew, so the teams winning the toss may opt to field first. Historically, teams chasing in Dubai have won close to 60 per cent of the matches. The average T20 score at Dubai International Cricket Stadium is 140. The pitch generally aids both pacers and spinners.

IND vs UAE Asia Cup 2025 Live streaming in India

The Asia Cup 2025 matches, including the India vs UAE game, will be broadcast live on Sony Sports 1 and Sony Sports 1 HD. The matches will be streamed live on the SonyLiv app and website.