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With the Asia Cup 2025 underway in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Indian cricket team kickstarted their campaign with a massive nine-wicket win. Taking the field for the first time in T20Is after February 2025, the Suryakumar Yadav-led Men in Blue registered a convincing nine-wicket win in their tournament opener against the UAE at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai on Wednesday, September 10.
After bundling out their opponents under 60 (57/10) in 13.1 overs, they chased the total in just 4.3 overs to get a massive win under their belt. Kuldeep Yadav was the standout player, picking a four-wicket haul whereas Shivam Dube also chipped in with three wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy got one each to their names.
Sanju Samson can bat at any position: Sitanshu Kotak ahead of IND vs PAK Asia Cup clash
In a surprising turn of events, the Indian team saw Sanju Samson walk out over Jitesh Sharma despite rumours of the latter getting a nod ahead of the veteran keeper-batter. However, Sanju Samson did not walk out to bat at the opening slot and was slotted at No. 5. Seeing this, India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak was inquired of the senior Indian keeper-batter’s batting position.
Speaking at the pre-match press address ahead of the highly-anticipated India versus Pakistan match, Kotak said, "See, Sanju has not batted a lot at No. 5 or 6. But that doesn't mean that he can't do it. So, I think Sanju is a good enough player to bat at any number. So, according to the requirement of the team, captain and head coach will decide. And he is more than happy to bat at any number.”
Furthermore, the Indian batting coach added that the captain, Suryakumar Yadav and the head coach in Gautam Gambhir will decide what is best and the Kerala batter is also good to bat at any given position. "If you look at our batting line-up, everyone is capable of going in at any number and finish the match. Although we have four-five such aggressive players, the head coach or captain can decide according to the situation. More or less, everyone is prepared to bat at any number. Sanju, in the last match, he would have batted at number 5. In the next match, he can bat at any number," he added.
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
