T20 World Cup 2021: India's Predicted Playing XI Against Pakistan

T20 World Cup 2021: India’s Predicted Playing XI Against Pakistan. The ICC T20 World Cup 2021 is slated to be played between 17^th October and 14^th November 2021. As many as 16 teams are set to battle it out for the coveted trophy. The tournament is divided into Round 1 followed by the Super 12 stage.

Team India are placed in Group 2 of the Super 12 stage. The Men in Blue will start their campaign in a high-octane clash against Pakistan. The two teams last faced each other in the ICC 2019 World Cup.

As far as the T20 internationals are concerned, both the teams have played against each other in 8 T20 internationals, out of which India have managed to win on 7 occasions. Pakistan have beaten India only on one occasion.

India will be playing against Pakistan for the ninth time in a T20 international. They would be keen to start their campaign on a winning note. Here’s a look at our predicted playing XI of the Indian Cricket Team for the highly anticipated encounter.

T20 World Cup 2021: India’s Predicted Playing XI Against Pakistan

Openers: Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul

The last time India played with its full strength in a T20 international, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma opened the innings. However, given the way KL Rahul batted in IPL 2021, it’s unlikely that he would play at number three or four. Both Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul should open the batting for India in the opener.

Middle-Order: Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant

Virat Kohli hasn’t been in the best of form, of late. He has been finding it hard to maintain a healthy strike rate in the middle overs on the slow track in UAE. Virat Kohli’s strike rate in the middle overs is a glaring concern for the team. The team could just hope that he rectifies all that in time and exhibit strong performances in the tournament.

A lot will be on the shoulders of Suryakumar Yadav in the big-ticket event. The management has put faith in him and they would hope that he lives up to all the expectations. He recently returned to form with a blistering knock of 82 runs off 40 balls in MI’s last game against SRH. That should give him enough confidence ahead of an important encounter against Pakistan.

Between Ishan Kishan and Rishabh Pant, the latter is likely to don the wicket-keeping gloves. He has played notable knocks under pressure for Delhi Capitals this season. Without a doubt, he is going to be a player to watch out for in the tournament.

All-rounders: Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja

Besides, Ravindra Jadeja will be picked as the second all-rounder on the side. There is no doubt that Ravindra Jadeja has improved by leaps and bounds as far as his batting is concerned. In the last year or so, Jadeja has played some outstanding knocks down the order both for India and Chennai Super Kings. The Indian team would be hoping that he replicate similar performances in the T20 World Cup 2021.

Bowlers: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy

Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s recent performances with the ball don’t inspire a lot of confidence. However, keeping in mind his experience of performing on the biggest stages, he should make it into the eleven. Bhuvneshwar Kumar could prove out to be a deadly customer if he gets movement in the air early on in the innings.

The other two seamers, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami are in sensational form. Both dished out sensational performances in IPL 2021. The duo bowled all crucial stages in the game and more often than not came out on top. Amongst all the spinners in the squad, Varun Chakravarthy is likely to get the nod as the first-choice pick.

Chakravarthy has led the wicket charts for KKR for two consecutive seasons. He has kept the batsmen guessing with his guile and turn and has been pretty economical as well. With an array of variations under his armoury, Chakravarthy is likely to prove the X-factor for team India in the big-ticket event.