India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate says the team is unlikely to change its playing XI for the Asia Cup 2025 clash against Pakistan following a dominant win over the UAE.
On Sunday, India will face Pakistan in their second match of the Asia Cup 2025 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. This high-energy encounter will take place at the same venue where India recently defeated the United Arab Emirates by a record margin in their opening game.
Led by Suryakumar Yadav, the Indian team secured victory in just 4.3 overs while chasing a modest target of 58 runs. In that match, India relied on only one frontline fast bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, while Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube served as supporting pace options.
The bowling attack also featured three spinners: Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Axar Patel.
When asked about India's playing XI for the upcoming match against Pakistan, assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said that it is "unlikely" that the team will make any changes to the lineup that faced the UAE.
"I don't think we gleaned too much information from that first game and even from the other games at the stadium so far. There hasn't been too much to take away from it. So unlikely to make changes. I think the sort of the biggest information takeaway is probably the difference from when we played here in the Champions Trophy. The wickets played a bit differently. but we feel the combination for the first game was a right setup," said Ryan ten Doeschate at the pre-match press conference in Dubai.
"I guess what you mean from three to seven, the batting position more than anything obviously, it wasn't revealed the other day with Sanju not batting but the overriding principle is that we want versatile players who can play differently in different situations but can also bat in different positions and I think we're very lucky with Sanju and Axar and even Hardik you know the guys who can bat anywhere from up the order all the way through to seven or eight. So, it will be part of our strategy to to use that versatility and when conditions are a little bit tough like we expect them to be I think that can be an important strategy for an advantage," he added.
While India dominated the UAE in their opening match, Pakistan secured a commanding 93-run victory over Oman.