Dubai pitch throws difficult selection question at India ahead of their tournament opener tomorrow against the UAE.
Grassy Dubai pitch leaves India with tricky selection against UAE.
Teams in Dubai confront a special difficulty because they can’t always predict what the surface will produce. India had to train at the nearby ICC Academy to get used to the energy-sucking heat because the main arena was closed for practice.
Following a two-hour net practice on Monday, they quickly travelled to the Dubai International Stadium to see the conditions for the first time. To start off quickly, they held their fielding session there to observe the surface, which bowling coach Morne Morkel heard “had a greenish tinge,” and to get acclimated to the outfield and the stadium’s signature ring-of-fire floodlights.
Early team selection hints
Ahead of their Asia Cup opener against the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, India has been exploring every combination possible due to the unusual possibility of not training at the stadium where they will play. Naturally, Morkel would not reveal their goals, but the training session did provide some clues.
To begin with, it appears quite obvious that Jitesh Sharma is the front-runner to be India’s first-choice wicketkeeper. As a result, Abhishek Sharma and vice captain Shubman Gill, who turned 26 on Monday and last participated in a Twenty20 International in July 2024, will likely return to the top of the order.
No. 8 is the other seat that India is considering. Do they use an all-rounder with a lot of net bowling experience, like Shivam Dube, to bolster their batting, or do they have Hardik Pandya as their third seamer and Arshdeep Singh or Harshit Rana accompany Jasprit Bumrah with the new ball? The club management’s efforts to improve their sixth-bowler options, including Abhishek, have been evident over the last several days.
Morkel’s careful assessment
With Mohammed Shami as the only specialist seamer and Pandya as the all-round option, India didn’t mind using four spinners during the Champions Trophy in March, when they played all of their matches in Dubai. As a result, India was able to include Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy in their starting lineup. Naturally, India had Ravindra Jadeja at No. 8 as a backup in the ODIs. Since Jadeja is no longer playing T20Is, India is without these comforts.
“I think when the Champions Trophy was played at that time in Dubai, there was a lot of cricket on the surfaces here and they looked a little bit tired,” Morkel said. “Tonight [Monday] we will have a first look at the surface. And I believe there’s quite a bit of a grass covering on the square.
“So we’ll have a good idea going into the first game in terms of what is sort of a better way to go. But in terms of planning at the moment, we will be covering all bases and then we’ll make a decision obviously on match day.”
The team will probably have an optional session on Tuesday due to the heat. In preparation for their encounter against Pakistan on September 14, India will have the opportunity to train again following the UAE match.