Rinku Singh failed to secure a place as Team India announced their playing XI against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the Asia Cup 2025 in Dubai on Wednesday, September 10. Shivam Dube was apparently picked ahead of Rinku owing to his all-around skills.Notably, Rinku has managed just 67 runs in his last five T20Is at a strike rate of 101.51. Overall, he has scored 546 runs in 33 T20Is at a strike rate of 161.06, hitting three fifties. He has also bagged two wickets in one innings. The 27-year-old, however, slammed 372 runs in nine innings for Meerut Mavericks at a strike rate of 178.85 in the recently concluded 2025 UPT20 League.On the other hand, Dube has scored 122 runs in his last four T20Is after the 2024 T20 World Cup. Overall, he has amassed 531 runs in 35 T20Is at a strike rate of 140.10, including four half-centuries. He has also bagged 13 wickets in 24 innings at an economy rate of 9.36.“His India performance hasn’t been effective” – Former India cricketer on Rinku SinghFormer India cricketer RP Singh recently pointed out India’s middle-order woes, questioning Rinku Singh and Shivam Dube’s performance with the bat in the last few T20Is. He said on his YouTube channel:“The strike rate that Hardik Pandya plays, the players around him, it’s not like they haven’t performed. Rinku Singh has performed, but his recent form for India isn’t good (67 runs in five innings). Even in the IPL, I think KKR didn’t use him properly. He played in the UPT20 League and performed there (372 runs in 11 innings), batting at No. 4 and 5. But his India performance hasn’t been effective.”“After that, Shivam Dube, left-handed batter, also has the firepower, but his recent form has been worrying. There is no batter in the middle order who can bat at the same strike rate as Hardik Pandya,” he added.Meanwhile, the Suryakumar Yadav-led side won the toss and chose to bowl against the UAE. Justifying his decision, he said at the toss (via Cricbuzz):"We'll bowl first. Looks a nice fresh wicket. Humid also today, might be dew later. If we get an opportunity, we're flexible to do anything, but today we want to bowl. We came here early, had 3-4 good practice sessions, and also a day off."Follow IND vs UAE Asia Cup 2025 live score and updates here.