‘Better to chase…’: Dubai Pitch curator shares his views on How things will turn out during Asia Cup

The Asia Cup 2025 is going to begin September 9- in a T20 format, and will be hosted in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The tournament will begin with a clash between Afghanistan and Hong Kong, and India will play their tournament opener against UAE on September 10.

Since the Asia Cup is about to begin in a couple of days, Tony Hemming, who worked as Head pitch curator from 2007 to 2017, has shared what he thinks about the grounds, and how specific conditions will give specific outcomes.

“Based on the last two years, we’ve seen that Dubai has been avoiding grass because of the extra usage that the stadium has had. Now, looking at the ground last two weeks, they have got a grass cover at the moment. So I believe that the pitches will not behave as they have for the last two years. The pitches should have better carry to the keeper and should have better pace onto the bat,” Tony said in an interaction with The Indian Express.

Speaking about the pitches in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Tony said, “Well, two grounds both use Pakistan soil. So the difference would be the grass cover. I believe Dubai will have more grass cover for this event. I believe that Abu Dhabi will have a good, even grass cover. The difference might be just the curators and the technology that perhaps one groundsman uses over the other.”

The Asia Cup features 8 teams that are divided into two groups:
Group A consists of India, Pakistan, Oman and United Arab Emirates.
Group B consists of Bangladesh Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Hong Kong.