MS Dhoni's manager joins UAE team for Asia Cup; pledges to beat Gautam Gambhir's India

The stage is set for an exciting Group A clash between India and the UAE in the Asia Cup 2025 on Wednesday, September 10, at the Dubai International Stadium. While the match looks one-sided on paper, the UAE’s head coach Lalchand Rajput isn’t shying away from the challenge.

Lalchand Rajput, the former Indian cricketer and former team manager during their 2007 T20 World Cup triumph, is eager to face his former student Gautam Gambhir, who is currently the head coach of the Indian cricket team, and hopes his team can pull off a surprise in Dubai.

UAE coach Lalchand Rajput aims for an upset against India in the Asia Cup 2025

Rajput is happy with his team’s batting strength and the quality of their spinners. He believes that the UAE bowlers could create real problems for the Indian lineup. The coach admitted that his team feels some nervousness going into the big match, but he is confident they are ready.

SHORTS

View More

Your daily dose of cricket!

Loading...

Read Also: Salman Agha denies calling India Asia Cup 2025 favorites, issues ‘fast bowlers’ warning

Lalchand Rajput was quoted as saying by ANI ahead of the match, “Our batting is strong; we have good spinners in our bowling unit. The players have experience playing in the UAE. But we will see how they perform against a big team. Everybody wants to play against India. There will be nervousness, and I think our players are ready.”

The entire Indian team is strong, says Lalchand Rajput

Praising the Men in Blue, Rajput has mentioned that India’s lineup is packed with match-winners like Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, and Tilak Verma. The UAE coach admitted that it is going to be a “tough game” against India, but he stressed that it is also a great opportunity for his players to test themselves against the “best in world cricket.”

The UAE coach noted, “The entire Indian team is strong. Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Gill have returned, and Abhishek and Tilak have scored centuries. The players they have are match winners. It is hard to name one player. India is a big team. Everyone knows that it has just become the world champion. This is a good opportunity for our team to play with good players.”

Read Also: Dubai Pitch Curator backstabs India, Gautam Gambhir goes insane before Asia Cup 2025

My boys won’t let India have it easy: Lalchand Rajput

However, the former Indian cricketer believes that in T20 cricket, anything can happen. So, Rajput wants his team to play fearless cricket and not be intimidated by India’s reputation. As a proud Mumbaikar, Rajput vowed not to give India an easy victory in their Asia Cup 2025 opener in Dubai.

He signed off by saying, “In T20, the team that plays well that day will win because one batsman can give you the match, and a bowler can give you the match. So, we will remain positive, and the most important thing is that we will play fearless cricket. It is a tough match, but I am a Khadoos Mumbaikar. My boys won’t let India have it easy.”

#WATCH | Deira, Dubai (UAE): On the performance of UAE in Asia Cup, Lalchand Rajput, Head Coach, UAE Cricket Team says, "We played a triangular series with Pakistan and Afghanistan, and we came very close, so a good atmosphere has been created in the team, and I think we will… pic.twitter.com/vgHktdxvAc

— ANI (@ANI) September 8, 2025

Notably, the UAE and India have faced each other only once in T20 internationals, where India easily won by nine wickets during the 2016 Asia Cup. In ODI cricket, the UAE has played India three times and lost all of them, with the most recent defeat coming in the 2015 World Cup.