The much-anticipated India vs. Pakistan encounter in the Asia Cup 2023 is planned to take place on Saturday, September 2, with Kandy serving as the host city. India will try to continue their winning streak against Pakistan in the competition, whereas Babar Azam and company will try to reverse the situation this time.
After defeating Nepal by 238 runs and kicking their campaign off successfully, they went on to choose an unchanged lineup for the match on September 2. So let’s take a look at the predicted India XI ahead of their clash against Pakistan.
1) Openers (Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill)
Rohit Sharma (Source – Twitter)
India’s opening pair for their match against Pakistan has never been in question as Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma would start the innings. Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi as well as Naseem Shah would be a challenge for both Rohit and Gill. Fortunately, the captain has played well versus the Men in Green, scoring consecutive hundreds in his previous two games in ODIs.
2) Middle order (Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan)
Virat Kohli (Source – Twitter)
There is absolutely no doubt about the position and place of Virat Kohli in the Indian batting order. He has been a key part for the Indian team for more than a decade and is one of the leaders of this team.
Shreyas Iyer, who is making a long injury comeback, ought to go in the middle of the order. Shreyas, a superb spinner, will have his work cut out for him against Pakistan’s pacers, who will undoubtedly target him by hitting some short balls.
Without Rahul, Kishan may probably be used in the middle order with out throwing off the team’s balance. Depending on the scenario, the Southpaw might bat at number No. 4 as well as No. 5.
3) All-rounders (Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel)
Ravindra Jadeja (Source – Twitter)
As India’s top two all-rounders in white-ball cricket, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja will undoubtedly be included in the starting XI to face off in the Asia Cup 2023 opener versus Pakistan. Both players will play crucial roles and have successful records versus the competition.
Along with Hardik and Jadeja, the Men in Blue can also deploy Axar Patel as a third all-rounder. But they could be persuaded to utilize the left-arm spinner versus Pakistan given that it is raining in Pallekele and that the track offers turn and grip for spinners as well.
4) Bowlers (Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah)
Jasprit Bumrah (Source – Twitter)
Three bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Kuldeep Yadav, are certain to be in India’s ODI starting XI in the near future. The latter two have dominated the format throughout the past 18 months, with Bumrah displaying some bowling proficiency in the previous T20I series versus Ireland.
There might be a case for Mohammed Shami to make the squad but that looks unlikely considering that it might break the team balance and India might have a long tail to deal with during batting.
