India will open their Asia Cup 2025 campaign against the host, the United Arab Emirates, on Wednesday, September 10, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
While most of the players pick themselves for the tournament opener, the uncertainty around Sanju Samson's spot in the XI continues to linger after Shubman Gill was assigned vice-captaincy.
According to Ajit Agarkar's press conference from the team selection day, Abhishek Sharma is likely to continue in his position in the team, and the management may have Samson sit out to accommodate Gill.
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Jitesh Sharma's extensive presence on the nets during India's first session in Dubai made the management's stance further clear: they expect him to play the first game as a wicketkeeper.
Here's what panned out in India's training session ahead of the tournament.
How did Sanju Samson perform in the net sessions ahead of the Asia Cup?
Fresh off a great season in the Kerala Cricket League 2025, where Samson scored 368 runs in just 5 innings at an average of 73.60 and a strike rate of 186.80, the batter was the first one to arrive at the training ground on Monday evening for India.
READ MORE: Asia Cup 2025: TV, live stream and how to watch from India
The 30-year-old got off with solo wicketkeeping drills with the fielding coach, T Dilip and looked sharp with the gloves, grabbing a full-stretch diving catch on his right side before coach Gautam Gambhir went on to have a chat with him.
According to PTI's report, Gambhir and Samson chatted for about three minutes. The player mostly listened to the coach, as they likely discussed batting.
VIDEO | Asia Cup 2025: At the practice session at ICC Cricket Academy in Dubai, Team India Head Coach Gautam Gambhir was seen engrossed in a discussion with wicket-keeper batsman Sanju Samson.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 8, 2025
Sanju Samson went through extensive keeping drills under the close supervision of… pic.twitter.com/5NHfrmc1U0
After a triumphant IPL season with RCB, followed by the Vidarbha Pro T20 League title with Neco Master Blaster, Jitesh Sharma batted in the nets alongside Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya before Abhishek, Suryakumar Yadav, and Gill batted.
READ MORE: Asia Cup 2025 squads: Check full team lists for all 8 nations in UAE T20 tournament
Towards the end of the session, Samson got to bat after a long wait, which saw him padded up and waiting to be called by the coaches. He was also standing near the nets before returning and sitting on the ice box, waiting his turn.
Asia Cup 2025: India probable playing XI
India XI: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy
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