UAE spinner Simranjeet Singh was excited for his team’s upcoming Asia Cup 2025 clash against Team India on September 10 in Dubai. The 35-year-old bowler from Ludhiana also revealed that he knew India vice-captain Shubman Gill from childhood and wondered if he remembered him or not.

"I have known Shubman since he was a kid, but I don't know if he remembers me. It was around 2011-12, and Shubman must have been 11 or 12 at the max. We used to train at the PCA Academy in Mohali from 6am to 11am. Shubman would come accompanied by his father at around 11 am.

I was someone who would also do a lot of extra bowling after our session. Don't know if he would recognize me, but during those days, I had bowled a lot to Shubman," Simranjeet Singh told PTI.

The 35-year-old slow left-arm orthodox bowler is a crafty customer, according to UAE head coach Lalchand Rajput.

"Not every left-arm spinner in T20Is has the heart to give the ball air and flight it consistently. Simran knows how to buy tickets with flight. I played a lot of district cricket in Punjab. I had finally made it to the Ranji probables in 2017. I had also bowled a lot at the erstwhile Kings XI Punjab nets whenever they had sessions in Mohali back in the day," he recalled.

“I had an offer to practice in Dubai, and I had come here for 20 odd days in April, 2021. And then the massive second wave hit, and there was another lockdown in India. I couldn't go back for months and eventually ended up staying back,” he added.

Simranjeet had to play domestic cricket for three seasons in order to be eligible to play for the UAE. After meeting the requirements, he reached out to head coach Lalchand Rajput and asked for a trial.

"From 2021, once I settled down in Dubai, I started earning decent money through coaching junior players. I was playing club cricket and coaching juniors. That way, I was able to run my household. Once I got into the UAE team, I got a central contract with the Emirates Cricket Board, and things are looking good," he said.

He starts laughing when asked which team his family would support when the UAE takes on India on Wednesday.

"That's a tough one. The dream was to play for India, but now that I am playing for UAE, I think they will support UAE," he chuckled.

(PTI inputs)