A jovial Suryakumar Yadav won the toss in India’s opening game of the Asia Cup 2025, asking the United Arab Emirates to bat first in Dubai. After being introduced by Sanjay Manjrekar and asked to flip the coin while his opposite number Muhammad Waseem made the call, Suryakumar shared a nice, friendly moment with the UAE captain, leading to ear-to-ear smiles from both players.
Right before flicking the coin into the air, Suryakumar leaned over to Waseem with a big smile on his face, covered the coin, and said, “Idhar mat dekho (don’t look here),” sharing a big smile and laugh with the UAE skipper.
This wasn’t the only friendly interaction between the pair, as they also traded words with one another as they crossed over after SKY had spoken to Sanjay Manjrekar presenting the toss, parting with smiles and indicating that there is certainly some mutual respect for each other heading into this contest.
Asia Cup LIVE BLOG: India vs UAE Asia Cup Live Score
Change of toss fortunes for India
{{/usCountry}}This wasn’t the only friendly interaction between the pair, as they also traded words with one another as they crossed over after SKY had spoken to Sanjay Manjrekar presenting the toss, parting with smiles and indicating that there is certainly some mutual respect for each other heading into this contest.
Asia Cup LIVE BLOG: India vs UAE Asia Cup Live Score
Change of toss fortunes for India
{{/usCountry}}Captain Surya ended India’s bad run of toss form, this being the first time in 15 attempts that an Indian captain had the toss go their way in international cricket. He opted to bowl first at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, asking opening batter Waseem to face up first as the evening sets in, and trying to take advantage of chasing under the lights.
India’s team for their opening contest sees Shubman Gill slotting in to partner Abhishek Sharma at the top of the order, while Sanju Samson gets to try his hand at a new role in the middle order. Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah starts as the lone frontline seamer, expected to receive support from Hardik Pandya and potentially Shivam Dube, who continues to be favourted in the shortest format. Three spinners and a strong stock of all-rounders see out India’s combination for the opening match.