NEW DELHI: India's Asia Cup campaign kicked off against UAE at the Dubai International Stadium against UAE on Wednesday. And while everyone was glued to the screen in excitement of the Campaign opener of Team India, some fans were not happy with the team selection. And one cannot blame them for it.

Because when the playing XI was announced, there was one player who was amiss. A player who would be the first name on the team sheet of almost all other T20I sides in the world. And that name is Arshdeep Singh.

Instead, it was Hardik Pandya, who opened the bowling for Team India. And fans just couldn't help but point out the obvious missing piece. A fan pointed out on X, "Arshdeep Singh is clearly a victim of dirty politics. He is a 3 format player imho and hasn't been picked in the starting 11 in his best format i.e. T20I. You got to feel very sorry for him. That's why hiring a PR team to hype you is very important.'

Many still haven’t forgotten that while Bumrah got all the hype for his performance in the death overs of the T20I World Cup final last year, Arshdeep Singh too played a crucial part.

Apart from this, at just 26 years of age, having played lesser matches than the likes of Bumrah and Chahal, he tops the list of India’s highest wicket takers in T20Is with 99 wickets to his name. An outing against UAE today could have made him India’s first wicket taking T20 Centurion. And fans pointed this out too, “Justice for Arshdeep Singh."

The decision to leave out the Punjab pacer seems even more weird when you factor in the playing conditions at Dubai International Stadium which have historically favoured the pacers who can take the pace off, the kind which Arshdeep has expertise in.

Arshdeep Singh has had chances few and far since the start of 2025. He did not get any minutes during India’s 2025 Champions Trophy campaign and has still not been given his much-anticipated Test Debut, though he came close during the England tour only to be ruled out due to a thumb injury.

India did manage to work wonders against UAE by forcing an all-out for just 57 runs on the back of their spin department's excellence. But Arshdeep's exclusion did not sit well with Indian fans.