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The Indian cricket team will return to action when they take on the UAE at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai on Wednesday, September 10 in their Asia Cup 2025 opener. The Men in Blue, who last played a T20I match in February this year when England toured them for a limited over series, will play their first T20I in over seven months.
While they enter the competition as the defending champions, they will have a daunting task with no Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli in the ranks now. But ahead of their opening game against UAE, star wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson and pace sensation Jasprit Bumrah remained absent from the training session.
Sanju Samson, Jasprit Bumrah miss optional training ahead of Asia Cup opener: Reports
The two senior players in the T20I setup missed the training on the eve of their match against UAE. However, it was an optional training at the ICC Academy, but reports citing PTI have claimed that the duo along with Kuldeep Yadav, and Harshit Rana chose to take a break. Notably, Sanju Samson’s place in the XI has been the talk ever since the squad was announced with Shubman Gill als o returning in the setup. Earlier reports also revealed that Jitesh Sharma is likely to get a nod ahead of Samson.
Meanwhile, during the optional training, Abhishek Sharma, the top ranked T20I batter was seen at his best. Sources have informed that Sharma went on to hit some 30 sixes during the training. Shubman Gill, who is set to open alongside Sharma, was also seen in good stead.
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
