The hosts of the Asia Cup 2025, the United Arab Emirates, will face the defending champions India on Wednesday, September 9, at the Dubai International Stadium.
Ahead of the T20 World Cup qualifiers, the UAE will make their fourth appearance in the Asia Cup, aiming to leave a mark in the test against the continent's giants.
UAE will feature some players from the South Asian region, including Simranjeet Singh, who also hails from the same state of Punjab as India vice-captain Shubman Gill.
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In this article, TSN dives deep to see who the UAE bowler is and how he has played with Gill.
Who is Simranjeet Singh?
Born on November 13, 1989, Simranjeet Singh is a slow left-arm orthodox bowler who was an aspiring cricketer in Punjab, the same state that Gill hails from.
During his time training in Mohali at the PCA academy, the spinner used to bowl to the Indian Test skipper in the practice nets -- back in 2011. Gill was around 10-11 years of age and used to take part in practice with his senior after sessions with his age group of players.
VIDEO | UAE spinner Simranjeet Singh recalled that when a 12-year-old Shubman Gill had joined the PCA Academy, he had bowled to him during practice sessions.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 9, 2025
"I think Shubman Gill must have been around 11 or 12 years old at that time. He used to come in the nets regularly for… pic.twitter.com/9UKnAh97TE
"I think Shubman Gill must have been around 11 or 12 years old at that time. He used to come in the nets regularly for practice. I would bowl later in the session, so I ended up bowling to him quite a lot as well," revealed Singh.
The lanky spinner went to the UAE for a short period in 2020. However, he was stuck in the country due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
After staying back, Singh continued to pursue cricket in the Middle East and earned his T20I debut in November 2024, as the UAE faced Saudi Arabia. Soon after, he would go on to debut in the ODIs in May 2025 against Scotland.
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So far, in 5 ODIs, he has picked 10 wickets at an average of 19.90 and has a four-fer to his name. In 12 T20Is, he has picked 15 wickets at a healthy economy rate of 5.64, averaging 14.66.
On September 9, at 35, he will not only have an opporunity to face his home country but also potentially bowl to Gill, who is now 26, once again.
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