Ever since the Indian team landed in Dubai for the Asia Cup 2025, a lot of chatter did the rounds on how the Men in Blue’s playing XI should look like against United Arab Emirates (UAE) in their campaign opener on Wednesday. Entering the continental showpiece as the No.1 ranked tea, India are clearly the pre-tournament favourites, despite the fact that there are no clear favourites when it comes to T20Is.

While the majority of Indian batting line-up looks ready well before the tournament, there has been constant discussions on Sanju Samson’s spot in the playing XI. Having formed an impressive combination at the top of the order with fellow opener Abhishek Sharma, Samson is expected to vacate his place for comeback man and vice-captain Shubman Gill.

Tilak Varma, captain Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya complete the top five. Among bowlers, Varun Chakaravarthy and Axar Patel are likely to start as the slow tweakers while Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh will lead the pace attack.

Pandya will add up as third seamer’s role. The Indian team management is also likely put their weight on another seaming all-rounder Shivam Dube, meaning Rinku Singh spending time on the bench.

Sanju Samson vs Jitesh Sharma

Going by India’s practice sessions in the buildup to the tournament, Samson is likely to miss out as Jitesh Sharma is expected to be favoured for his batting prowess, coming down the order.

Asked whether Samson will play against UAE, Suryakumar promised to take “good care” of the Kerala wicketkeeper-batter. “We are actually taking good care of Sanju, don’t worry, we will make the right decision tomorrow,” said Suryakumar, responding to a reporter’s question.

India vs UAE predicted playing XIs

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