From Jasprit Bumrah to Sanju Samson to Rinku Singh, Suryakumar Yadav has puzzles to solve in selecting the XI for the Asia Cup opener
India cricket team captain Suryakumar Yadav has a tough task at hand in terms of finalising the playing XI for the Asia Cup 2025 opener against UAE on September 10. The Men in Blue, who are the defending champions. have a star-studded squad for the tournament, with no department lacking firepower whatsoever. Yet, unfortunately only 11 stars can be accommodated in line-up and this will surely be a headache for both the captain and coach Gautam Gambhir to decide on.
For starters, UAE aren’t a formidable team that India would be concerned about. Hence, the first question that comes to the fore is if a full-strength team needed for the Asia Cup opener. The next issue is to get the combination right – the right balance between top-order batters, pinch hitters in the middle-order, finishers, all-rounders and the bowling department. For India, the game against UAE will be a game that could very well dictate the future course of action in the tournament in terms of team selection.
In this very regard, there are three puzzles that SKY needs to crack. Let’s take a look at them:
1. Sanju Samson vs Jitesh Sharma
Samson will be forced to bat in the middle-order and not at his usual position as opener. The Kerala keeper-batter has already lost his position at the top of the order to Shubman Gill, who is making his return to T20Is. And that has been made very clear by chief selector Ajit Agarkar.
But one can’t discount Samson’s form as an opener in the past one year. Apart from his recent successes in the KCL 2025, he has also slammed three T20I hundreds in the previous calendar year – the only Indian to do so. At the same time, he can’t be played at no.3 – another position that he is experienced in – as Tilak Varma is expected to occupy the spot.
This brings us to the first puzzle – should India play designated finisher Jitesh Sharma instead of Samson? The RCB star had a stellar season with the IPL 2025 champions – amassing 261 runs from 15 games at an average of 37.28 – acing his role as a finisher to perfection. Meanwhile, Sanju has hardly played any T20Is or T20s in the middle-order.
Besides this, there is also a fitness concern involving Samson. He wasn’t a part of any fielding drills on Day 2 of India’s practice in Dubai. When he did hit the nets, he batted for quite a short while and was only seen striking some sixes. This concern, along with his inexperience of batting in the middle-order as opposed to Jitesh, might force SKY to pick the latter.
2. To play Bumrah or not?
The selection of ‘Test asset’ Jasprit Bumrah in India’s Asia Cup squad is baffling, the least to say. Yet, the selectors perhaps want to shed the image of the pacer picking and choosing matches to play in, which has drawn sharp criticism in the recent past. Now, for captain Surya, it will be imperative to decide if Bumrah should indeed play against a ‘toothless’ opposition like the UAE or should he be preserved for their next game against arch-rivals Pakistan.
It is pertinent to point out that Bumrah last played a T20I back in 2024, with his last game being the one against South Africa in the T20 World Cup final. Since then, he has devoted himself to Tests, gotten injured, made his comeback in IPL 2025 and played just 3 out of 5 Tests against England. With all the debate around workload management, one can say it won’t be wise to play him against UAE.
India have no dearth of pace options. Arshdeep Singh will spearhead the attack. Hardik Pandya can play second fiddle to him. And if India want an additional full-time pacer, then they can pick Harshit Rana instead of Bumrah in the playing XI. Although the KKR pacer had an average IPL season where he picked 15 wickets from 13 games, he has been backed by the selectors, coach and captain to feature in India’s T20I squad. The game against UAE will provide the perfect platform for Rana to prove his naysayers wrong.
The Rinku Singh-Shivam Dube conundrum
Both Rinku and Shivam will be considered as finishers if drafted into the playing XI for the game against UAE. Only one of them can make it to the side and they will be asked to bat at a situation where India would need them to go all guns blazing. Talking about their form, Dube had average IPL 2025 season as he finished with 357 runs to his name. Rinku, on the other hand, managed to score just 206 runs but regained his touch in the recently concluded UPT20 2025. However, it is pertinent to point out that Rinku has been included in India’s squad only because the selectors felt that an extra batter was needed.
Dube might have an upper hand in making it to the playing XI simply because he can act as an additional pacer. He was seen bowling in full throttle in the nets on Saturday, which could perhaps be an indication of what can come. But once again, it is also important to take note that India are playing the game in Dubai and there won’t be any need to have an excessive number of pacers in the side. Thus, it will all come down to the captain and the coach’s assessment of the Dubai pitch before taking a call on who amongst Dube and Rinku should be a part of the playing XI.
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Sanju, Jitesh, Rinku? Suryakumar Yadav faces 3 selection puzzles before IND vs UAE Asia Cup opener
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