UAE coach Lalchand Rajput aims to stage a major upset against Gautam Gambhir’s India in the Asia Cup 2025 opener. Get squad, preview & insights.
UAE cricket team will begin their Asia Cup 2025 journey against a galore of match-winners from India on Wednesday at the Dubai International Stadium. While India is full of match-winners and UAE is back in the tournament after a nine-year gap, expectations are rife for a one-sided affair. Yet, UAE coach Lalchand Rajput is confident there's space for an upset in the high-voltage encounter.Lalchand Rajput Looking Forward to Meeting Former Student Gautam Gambhir
For Rajput, the match is particularly significant as he will play his old protégé, India head coach Gautam Gambhir. Rajput, who is a former India Test batter, stated that he was looking forward to meeting Gambhir after many years. "He was the leading run-scorer in the 2007 T20 World Cup. I will meet him after many years. So there will be talk, and I am surely looking forward to meeting him," he informed ANI.
Even with India's strong lineup, Rajput insisted that T20 cricket is a game of surprises. "India is a big team. They were champions in the previous World Cup. But it is a good chance to play against India. In T20s, the team that performs well on the day you are playing will emerge victorious. One batter or one bowler can get you the match. We will play fearless cricket," he added.
Rajput also admitted that there is nervousness, but he emphasized his team is prepared to carry out their tactics against one of the world's leading teams.
Back in the Asia Cup for the first time since 2016, UAE has strength in the form of captain Muhammad Waseem and big-hitting Asif Khan. Rajput emphasized the depth of his own batting line-up and indicated that his spinners might be able to trouble the Indian batsmen.
Batting is looking good, we have quality spinners in our bowling line-up. Players are familiar with playing in the UAE. However, we will observe how they do against a strong team," he further added.
When requested to identify major threats from India, Rajput declined to mention one player specifically, referencing the entire Indian side as match-winners. He highlighted stars like Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, and Tilak Varma, who have been in great form going into the tournament.
UAE team: Muhammad Waseem (c), Alishan Sharafu, Aryansh Sharma (wk), Asif Khan, Dhruv Parashar, Ethan D'Souza, Haider Ali, Harshit Kaushik, Junaid Siddique, Matiullah Khan, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Zohaib, Rahul Chopra (wk), Rohid Khan, Simranjeet Singh, Saghir Khan.
India team: 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. Standby players: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel.
With history, pride, and T20 unpredictability at stake, the UAE vs India opener will be an intriguing beginning to Asia Cup 2025. What fans can look forward to is high intensity as Rajput's team tries to upset the apple cart against Gambhir's champions.
