There was plenty of chatter regarding India’s opening pair-whether Sanju Samson would play-following Shubman Gill’s addition to the squad as vice-captain. The suspense finally ended on Wednesday, with both Samson and Gill included in the final XI. Jitesh Sharma, who was also in contention for the wicketkeeper’s role, did not find a place in the team.
Meanwhile, India captain Suryakumar Yadav opted to bowl after winning the toss at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. “We’ll bowl first. Looks a nice fresh wicket. Humid also today, might be dew later. If we get an opportunity, we’re flexible to do anything but today we want to bowl. We came here early, had 3-4 good practice sessions and also a day off,” Suryakumar said at the toss.
Samson had built a flourishing opening partnership with Abhishek Sharma in recent months, the pair adding 267 runs in 12 T20I innings at a strike rate of over 170. The Kerala batter has 861 T20I runs at a strike rate of 142, including three hundreds, and India are yet to lose a T20I series since the 2024 T20 World Cup with him as opener. In Dubai, however, Samson has been shifted to the middle order, with Gill returning at the top after a year’s absence.
