IND vs PAK: Shadab Khan, Abdullah Shafique Among 7 Pakistan Players To Miss Training Ahead Of India vs Pakistan Clash: Reports

A lot will be at stake when Pakistan take on Team India in the much-awaited game on Saturday (October 14). The World Cup clash is scheduled to be played at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

The Men in Green have a terrible record against India in the ODI World Cup. While they have defeated India once in seven attempts in the T20 World Cup, they are yet to taste success in the ODI World Cup. India and Pakistan have played seven games against each other and the former have won each one of them.

Babar Azam and his teammates will definitely be under pressure to break the jinx against India in the World Cup. They do have the required firepower to stun the fancied hosts on Saturday. And while players usually like to undergo intense training ahead of a crucial game, as many as seven Pakistan players decided against it on Friday (October 13).

One day before the game, Pakistan had an optional training session in Ahmedabad. While most of the players took part in the session, seven players decided against it, as per Cricket Pakistan. The players who trained are – captain Babar Azam, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Haris, Zaman Khan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Abrar Ahmed and Iftikhar Ahmed.

And the seven players who rested at the team hotel were – Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam ul Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Saud Shakeel, Usama Mir, and Hassan Ali.

Babar Azam on importance of toss ahead of India vs Pakistan match:

Speaking ahead of the game, Pakistan captain Babar Azam spoke on the importance of the toss in the ongoing competition. He stated that the batting becomes easier under the lights due to dew and makes things difficult for the bowling team.

“Considering all the matches that have taken place so far, toss has been vital. Under the lights, the pitch behaves really well. There was dew as well last night. We will also ask the umpires about whether they will spray the outfield for dew,” Babar said.

India squad:

Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.

Pakistan squad:

Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim.