Dubai, Sep 6: The Indian cricket team began their training for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 under the evening heat of the ICC Academy Oval, with the focus inevitably shifting to the wicketkeeping conundrum between Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma.
The session, which lasted close to four hours on Friday, carried the air of a gentle warm-up rather than a selection trial.
Yet, every move of Samson and Jitesh drew attention. Samson, fresh from his Kerala Cricket League stint, limited his workload after a solid 30-minute batting session in the humidity, while Jitesh went through a full wicketkeeping workout alongside his batting stint, suggesting he was keen to make up for lost competitive time since June.
The rest of the squad eased into the evening with fitness drills, shuttle runs, and light fielding exercises. Jasprit Bumrah, however, paid little heed to trainer Adrian Le Roux’s “75% intensity” instructions, running in hard at Shubman Gill, who responded with characteristic flair before being undone by a sharp nip-backer. “Stiff legs,” Gill joked, as Bumrah kept at him with high-energy spells.
There was plenty of intensity in other nets too. Suryakumar Yadav looked to rediscover his touch following a layoff after sports hernia surgery, batting alongside Gill and Jitesh.
Earlier, Samson, Tilak Varma and Abhishek Sharma had launched into brisk batting sessions with an assortment of heavy bats.
Hardik Pandya, sporting blonde hair, bowled a sustained 20-minute spell at pace, while Shivam Dube’s action and stride came under the close watch of bowling coach Morne Morkel.
Abhishek mixed up his left-arm spin variations, keeping the coaches engaged.
Fast bowlers Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana, both coming off Duleep Trophy duty, spent more time on fitness and mobility drills, with the coaching staff clearly monitoring workloads. Meanwhile, support staff members worked tirelessly in the background, ferrying water, fruit, and ice-bath supplies across the ground, as Hong Kong and Oman played a concurrent match on the main field.
In sharp contrast to the frenzied fan turnout during the Champions Trophy, only a handful of spectators watched India train behind barricades. By the time the squad wrapped up around 9 pm, the day had felt more like shaking off the rust than laying down markers.
The first training session may not have provided answers to India’s wicketkeeping dilemma between Samson and Jitesh, but it set the tone for the build-up to their opening Asia Cup fixture against UAE next week.
