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After a month long hiatus, the Indian cricket team is all set to return to action as they play the Men’s Asia Cup 2025. The continental tournament, which will be played in T20 format this year, will be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from September 9 to 28. The Men in Blue, who will be led by Suryakumar Yadav, will enter the tournament as the defending champions after lifting the title in 2023.
Just days prior to the tournament, the Indian team began their practice in Dubai, the venue where they will host UAE in the opening match of the tournament. During their first training session, all the 15 players hit the ground and indulged in some fielding, batting drills whereas the bowlers had some throwdowns.
Jitesh Sharma likely to get nod ahead of Samson in India’s Asia Cup opener
In one of the instances which caught the eyeballs, Jitesh Sharma, who returns in the Indian setup after Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) IPL 2025 victory, was seen practising keeping whereas Sanju Samson, who has been in brilliant run of form, was doing catching and throwdowns. The same was also opined by renowned media house RevSportz, who also claimed Jitesh doing wicketkeeping drills sees him to play the opener ahead of Samson.
If these reports are to be believed, Jitesh Sharma is set to get a nod ahead of Samson in Team India’s Asia Cup 2025 opener, where they will play UAE on September 10 in Dubai. It is to be noted that Sanju Samson’s inclusion in the playing XI has been a talk ever since the squad was announced seeing Shubman Gill also being named in the side. While the conundrum continues around the 30-year-old Kerala batter, he continues to shine.
Jitesh Sharma, who last featured in the IPL 2025 amassed 261 runs from 11 innings at an average of 37.28 and a strike rate of 176.35. His last India appearance came in January 2024 against Afghanistan. On the other hand, Sanju Samson is coming off a sensational form in Kerala Cricket League, where he amassed 368 runs from five innings at a breathtaking strike rate of 186.80
India’s squad for Asia Cup 2025
Surya Kumar 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: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel
