India vs UAE Asia Cup 2025: Defending Champions Begin Campaign Under Suryakumar Yadav

India will begin their Asia Cup 2025 journey on Wednesday, September 10, against hosts United Arab Emirates at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. With a record eight titles already, India enter the tournament as defending champions under skipper Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir. The Men in Blue will be looking to secure a historic ninth crown, carrying an outstanding run of 24 wins and only three losses since last year’s global tournament.

India vs UAE Asia Cup 2025: Suryakumar Yadav’s confidence before the opener

At the pre-match press conference, captain Suryakumar Yadav expressed respect for the UAE team while remaining confident about India’s depth.
“They (UAE) play an exciting brand of cricket. Recently they came very close against strong teams. We are really excited to play them,” he said.

He also pointed out the advantage of part-time bowlers in the squad:
“We don’t want to rely too much on part-timers, but when a top or middle-order batter gives you an extra over, it’s always good for the captain. On slow pitches, that flexibility can be crucial.”

India vs UAE Asia Cup 2025: Players to watch out for

Shubman Gill (Vice-Captain): After a brilliant run in the Anderson–Tendulkar Trophy in England, Gill has 578 runs in 21 T20Is, including a century (126) and four fifties.
Jasprit Bumrah: India’s strike bowler, who shone in the 2024 T20 World Cup with 15 wickets in 8 matches, continues to be the backbone of the bowling unit. Across 70 T20Is, he has 89 wickets at an economy of just 6.27.

These stars, along with the likes of Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, and Rinku Singh, make India a formidable side.

India and UAE have faced each other only once in T20I cricket. That meeting came during the 2016 Asia Cup, where UAE were restricted to just 81/9, and India chased the target comfortably in 11 overs.

India vs UAE Asia Cup 2025: Match details and squads

Date: September 10, 2025 (Wednesday)
Time: 8:00 PM IST / 6:30 PM local
Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium
Live Broadcast: Sony Sports Network & SonyLIV

India Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson (WK), Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.
Reserves: Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal.

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

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