IND vs PAK: India's Batting Lineup For Pakistan Game Finalized, Stars To Return

India take on Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2023 on September 2 in Pallekele, Sri Lanka. This is the most important match of the tournament and the build-up to this match is huge.

The BCCI has already named an 18-member squad for Asia Cup 2023 with Sanju Samson named in the reserves. The PCB has also named a 17-member Pakistan squad led by Babar Azam. Both teams are expected to go all out to win the match.

The Indian team is down to practice sessions ahead of the all-important clash. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, and Suryakumar Yadav all had a pretty good net session.

Iyer and Rahul have returned to India’s ODI squad. Without them, the Indian middle-order lacked the experience. Iyer and Rahul are both expected to return to number four and five batting slots.

The Indian team is attending a six-day training camp at the Karnataka State Cricket Association’s (KSCA) Three Ovals campus in Alur. India’s training session had a sneak peek into the possible batting lineup they might have in the match against Pakistan.

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Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill To Open For India

The Indian batters batted in pairs with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill batting together. Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer then batted together at three and four followed by KL Rahul at five. According to a report by Cricbuzz, India opted for a centre-wicket practice with batters being sent in pairs.

With the top five sorted, Hardik Pandya is expected to bat at six and Ravindra Jadeja at seven followed by the four bowlers. Shardul Thakur batting at eight extends India’s batting lineup to number eight followed by Bumrah and Shami with Kuldeep in the XI.

Meanwhile, there have been talks about Kohli dropping down to number four in recent times. Ravi Shastri and AB de Villiers have both suggested the former Indian skipper to bat at four.

Since the last ODI World Cup in 2019, Kohli has batted only once at No. 4, in the match against Australia in Wankhede in 2020 back when he was the skipper. Moreover, in the 29 times Kohli and Iyer have been part of the same line-up since 2018, he has always batted at No. 3 with Iyer evolving as a stable No.4 batter since the start of 2020.

India’s Asia Cup 2023 Squad

Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumraj, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Sanju Samson (travelling reserve).

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