Suryakumar Yadav-led Indian team will look to make the most of the upcoming Asia Cup, with the T20 World Cup being months away from now. India have begun their final preparations for the Asia Cu 2025, which gets underway from September 9 in the UAE.
Defending champions India kicked off their final phase of preparations for the Asia Cup 2025 with their first net session at the ICC Academy in Dubai on Friday.
India, drawn in Group A, will open their campaign against hosts UAE on September 10, before meeting arch-rivals Pakistan on September 14 and Oman on September 19. Two teams qualify from each group for the Super Fours, which will begin on September 20.
This was the first occasion the squad trained together since the England Test series, which ended in a 2โ2 draw last month. There was a lot of movement in the Indian camp with the likes of skipper Suryakumar Yadav, vice-captain Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson, Jitesh Sharma, Tilak Varma and Abhishek Sharma, hitting the nets and enjoying extended batting sessions in the nets.
Several Indian players will be in the action after a bit of a break, including Gill, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav. Instead of hosting a camp at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, the management opted for an early arrival in Dubai to acclimatise to conditions.
Gill, the Test skipper, was at the epicentre of the attention at nets, while Bumrahโs return to T20Is was closely watched. The ace pacer last featured in the format during the 2024 T20 World Cup final in Bridgetown, during which he was adjudged as the Player-of-the-Series. Bumrah looked refreshed as he rejoined the squad.
At training, he was seen chatting with Abhishek Sharma, while Samson interacted with head coach Gautam Gambhir and the fielding coach. Hardik Pandya also caught the eye, sporting a new blonde hairstyle as he mingled with fans and signed autographs.
Indiaโs session was overseen by Gambhir, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak and bowling coach Morne Morkel. With Dream11 no longer sponsoring the team, players trained in plain jerseys without logos.
India are the designated hosts of the T20 Asia Cup, the tournament, which is being staged across venues in the UAE. India are placed in Group A alongside Pakistan, UAE and Oman, while Group B features Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Hong Kong.