9 Sep 2025: The last time Kuldeep Yadav played for India was the Champions Trophy final against New Zealand in March this year. He did not get a game in the five-match test series against England. It appears that Kuldeep’s wait to get back into the India XI will be longer. The left-arm wrist spinner who played a crucial role in India’s Champions Trophy victory is unlikely to start in India’s Asia Cup XI. Unlike the England tour, this time, however, the reason behind Kuldeep’s exclusion is not the team combination but the Dubai pitch.
During their first training session at the Dubai International Stadium on Monday, ahead of their Asia Cup 2025 opener against the UAE, India were greeted with a pitch with a greenish tinge.
India did not shy away from playing four spin-bowling options in their playing XI in the Champions Trophy at the same time as you did earlier this year. But that may not be the case in the Asia Cup. The weather may be largely similar, but the pitch has changed. From a slow and dry surface that offered plenty of turn to the spinners, the Dubai pitch is set to assist the seamers more.
“Again, we need to go and look at the wicket. I think when the Champions Trophy was played at that time, there was a lot of cricket on the surfaces here and they looked a little bit tired,” said India bowling coach Morne Morkel.
“So again, tonight we’ll have a first look at the surface, and I believe there’s quite a bit of grass covering on the square. So we’ll have a good idea going into the first game in terms of what is sort of a better way to go, but in terms of planning at the moment, we’re covering all bases and then we’ll make a decision obviously on match day.”
Varun Chakaravarthy to be lone specialist spinner
This leaves India with the tricky choice of picking only one specialist spinner in their XI. It will be hard to look beyond Varun Chakaravarthy, considering his track record in this format. The second spinner’s role will be taken care of by all-rounder Axar Patel. If Suryakumar Yadav needs more overs of spin, then he can always use Abhishek Sharma’s left-arm spin.
Morkel was well aware of Kuldeep’s situation. “I think he’s a very professional athlete. His attitude since England, where he received hardly any game time, he’s still the guy that put the overs in,” Morkel said.
“And for me, Kuldeep, like I said, he’s bowled a lot of overs in his career. He knows what to do to get himself ready for T20 cricket, white-ball cricket. And like I said, we can control only what we can control now, and that is when we do train now and when we have our sessions, that it’s focused, that there’s a purpose behind it and we have goals.
“We set those goals out and from there, it’s up to them to go out and lead with the ball,” he concluded.
Shivam Dube and Jitesh Sharma set to play
India head coach Gautam Gambhir has banked on batting depth in all formats. In the Champions Trophy, India played with three all-rounders. Hardik Pandya and Akshar Patel picked themselves in the XI, while the now-retired (T20Is) Ravindra Jadeja’s spot could go to seam bowling all-rounder Shivam Dube. The lanky Mumbai cricketer not only strengthens India’s middle-order batting but also provides crucial overs with the ball.
It will be a toss-up between Dube and wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma for the number 7 slot. Yes, from the hints that India’s training sessions have thrown, it appears that Jitesh is likely to pip Sanju Samson for the keeper’s slot.
There are very few doubts about India’s ability to lead fast bowlers going into the Asia Cup. Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh will lead India’s seam attack. Considering the grass content on the pitch, the possibility of a third seamer in Harshit Rana cannot be ruled out, but it is unlikely that India would go down that road in the first match itself.
Summary : India announced its Asia Cup lineup against UAE, excluding Kuldeep Yadav, opting for one spinner, three all-rounders, and selecting Jitesh Sharma over Sanju Samson.