Asia Cup 2023: Predicting India’s playing XI for their encounter against Pakistan

The 16th edition of the Asia Cup 2023 began on August 30, featuring an opening match between Pakistan and Nepal. India has secured the most titles with seven, trailing Sri Lanka (6) and Pakistan (2). The rivalry ignites as India faces Pakistan on September 2 in Pallekele. Despite KL Rahul’s initial absence due to injury, India’s nearly full-strength squad promises an exciting game. The anticipated clash with Pakistan prompts speculation about India’s ideal XI for the opener.

As the craze for India and Pakistan increases let us now look at the playing XI for India team ahead of Asia Cup 2023:

Opening

The opening position will be crucial for the India team and will have the responsibility of negotiating the fast-bowling lineup of Pakistan. It will be Shubman Gill opening with Rohit Sharma as usual as over the years the duo have complemented each other very well and given India good starts in the past. Rohit has been a revelation after he started opening the batting for India in 2013. The number 3 position will be taken by the legendary India batter Virat Kohli who is probably the best white ball batter that the world has ever seen. 

Middle Order and All-rounder

The number four position will be taken by Shreyas  Iyer who is coming back from a back injury and will be trying to make a mark for himself in the upcoming ODI World Cup as well. The number five position is a concern for Indian team management as originally the team expected KL Rahul to play in that spot but his recovery is still concerning and the wicketkeeper will be missing the first two India matches against Pakistan and Nepal. So, Ishan Kishan can be slotted in place of KL Rahul. Despite Kishan performing well at the top of the order as the situation stands he will be used in the lower middle-order position. 

Hardik Pandya will be coming in at number six as the all-rounder has over the years grown into confidence and has provided the team with some pivotal all-rounder roles over the years. The team will also be expecting him to chip with some crucial overs as well. The number seven will be Ravindra Jadeja who will be crucial as the left-hand batter can chip in with both bat as well as ball. 

Bowlers

The number eight will be slotted by Kuldeep Yadav who is in the team primarily as a bowler but can also provide with resistant batting. The number nine will be slotted in by Jasprit Bumrah as the star India speedster has shown brilliant improvement in the last few years when it comes to batting. The numbers ten and eleven will be slotted in by Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj respectively.