Asia Cup 2023: India Predicted Playing XI against Nepal

The Indian team had a tough day against Pakistan in the ongoing Asia Cup 2023 as they were troubled by the Men in Green pacers and barely managed to put up a decent total on the board before rains ruined the match. Now they will face off against Nepal on September 4th, a match they need to win to make it into the Super 4s stage.

Nepal had played the tournament opener against Pakistan in Multan and was hammered by 238 runs and will now face India in their first-ever ODI against the neighbours. The venue for the match will be the Pallekele Stadium in Kandy, Sri Lanka.

If India wins this match, they will qualify for the Super 4s stage and join Pakistan from Group A. For doing so, they need to pick the best playing XI for the crucial encounter, which despite being against minnows Nepal, cannot be taken lightly.

Here is the India Predicted Playing XI against Nepal:

Rohit Sharma (C)

Rohit Sharma. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Rohit Sharma is one of the pillars of the Indian batting along with Virat Kohli and had looked good against Shaheen Afridi earlier in the innings, hitting him for two boundaries as well.

However, after the rain break, Afridi shortened his length and beautifully set the Indian captain up for his clean bowled dismissal by bowling two outswingers and then getting on back into the opener.

The match against Nepal will be the ideal one for Rohit to get into his groove in the tournament and prepare for the upcoming challenges in the Super 4s stage.  

Shubman Gill

Shubman Gill. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Shubman Gill was jittery and looked uncomfortable against the Pakistani pace attack of Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf in Kandy in the first match for India in the Asia Cup 2023.

After an amazing first half of 2023, Shubman Gill has struggled for form ever since then and the same thing was seen in the West Indies tour as well, where he only managed two half-centuries on the tour, one each in ODIs and T20Is.

However, he is still one of the most promising young batters and has proven himself to be a big scorer and has a golden chance against Nepal to get back into form.

Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: Twitter/BCCI)

Virat Kohli was dismissed for four runs, chopping onto his stumps off Shaheen Afridi. But he had looked good in his short stay as his drive for four showed that Kohli is still in prime form. The dismissal was just an off day for him.

Kohli will also be eager to get some batting practice against Nepal in Kandy on Monday before India moves to more serious stuff in the Super 4s stage if they win this encounter and qualify for the same.

Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer. (Photo by RANDY BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images)

Shreyas Iyer made his much-awaited return to the no.4 batting position and stroked some hefty shots against the Pakistani pacers in his first outing in international cricket since March 2023. He looked good and even the shot on which he got out was a full-blooded pull which unfortunately went straight into the hands of the fielder at mid-wicket.

However, the signs are there that India has found their solution for the no.4 spot and Iyer is not out of form, just needs a bit of practice in the middle before going full blast.

Ishan Kishan (WK)

Ishan Kishan. (Photo Source: ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP via Getty Images)

The shining light for India against Pakistan was the knock played by Ishan Kishan at the No. 5 spot, as his previous scores at the position were not good ones and he had struggled against spin previously.

But this time, he got to settle at the crease against pace and when the spinners came on, he just played them on merit and attacked when needed. His knock was both mature and attacking and impressed everyone who watched it.

With KL Rahul still to join the Indian squad for the Asia Cup, Kishan will have another chance against Nepal to make himself undroppable for coming matches with another good knock in Kandy.  

Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya. (Photo Source: RANDY BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images)

Hardik Pandya played his most mature knock in recent times as his 87 runs helped India big time to post a decent total in the end. He flayed Haris Rauf for three fours in an over which was a sight to watch for and it is a good sign that the all-rounder is in good batting form.

With the ball, Hardik had done well in West Indies, even opening the bowling in a few matches to enable the better pacers to bowl crucial overs in the middle and the death as well, something that he might do in the World Cup as well.

Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Ravindra Jadeja didn’t do much with the bat and didn’t get a chance to bowl on the Kandy pitch. However, he has been amazing in ODIs in previous matches and is fit again to make life hell for the batters with the ball.

With the bat, he will be tasked with finishing the games with some big shots, and expect him to bat higher against Nepal to get some game time as well.

Shardul Thakur

Shardul Thakur. (Photo Source: RANDY BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images)

Shardul Thakur also failed to add runs to the Indian total as the pace of the Pakistani bowler was too much for him. His selection over Mohammad Shami was a contentious one, as India preferred extra batting depth over bowling strength.

And it remains to be seen whether Indian team management would keep faith in Shardul Thakur against Nepal who are minnows and bring back Shami in the side in a game they will look to win to get momentum in the tournament.

Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep yadav. (Photo Source: RANDY BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images)

Kuldeep Yadav will be the one to look out for in the match against Nepal as he will be itching to get some wickets under his belt. He was the star of the show against West Indies with the ball in the ODIs and also in the T20Is.

With his left-arm chinaman bowling, he might make it difficult for the Nepal batters to survive in the middle and put on a good score.

Mohammed Shami

Mohammed Shami. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Veteran India bowler, Mohammed Shami was excluded from India’s playing XI for the first match against Pakistan. The team management showed more trust in Shardul Thakur which meant that Shami had to drop out. For the second match of the Men in Blue however, Jasprit Bumrah has taken a leave of absence due to personal reasons. This means, Shami would be handed his debut in the Asia Cup 2023.

The veteran fast bowler would be leading India’s pace attack against Nepal who faced a huge defeat in their first-ever Asia Cup match earlier. 

Mohammed Siraj

Mohammad Siraj. (Photo Source: BCCI)

Another bowler coming off an injury is Mohammed Siraj, who missed the white-ball part of the West Indies tour to due an ankle niggle.

His fitness will also be under scanner against Nepal as India will look towards him to bowl long spells and keep the pressure on the batters.

India Predicted Playing XI against Nepal: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj