IND vs PAK: India's Playing XI For Pakistan In ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022

Openers: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul

The opening combination has been a constant over the last few T20I series. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, brandishing their willows in a way that suits the side’s new attacking template, should face the fearsome trio of Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf.

Rahul found some form against South Africa and Australia, even though he wasn’t at his best. Rohit, meanwhile, has made key contributions over the last year, although his conversion rate hasn’t been great.

Middle order: Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Dinesh Karthik (wk)

Virat Kolhi, since his break, has just rediscovered his form and is back to what he does best for the team- providing consistency and solidarity. He slammed a century in Asia Cup 2022. Later, Virat Kohli piled up 76 runs in 3 games against Australia with a match-winning 63 in the 3rd T20I match. Against South Africa, Virat Kohli scored 52 runs in 2 games with an unbeaten 49-run knock in one match.

Virat Kohli recently returned to form in the Asia Cup 2022 where he was the 2nd highest run-getter by amassing 276 runs in 5 T20Is averaging 92. He also hit a ton after 2019 and his first in T20I by scoring 122* against Afghanistan. He followed it up by scoring 63 in a T20I against Australia and 49* in a T20I against Proteas. He averages 67.67 against Pakistan having amassed 406 runs in 9 T20Is.

India’s best T20I batter at the moment, Suryakumar Yadav will take the responsibility to score runs in the middle order, just like he has been doing since his debut. The batter has already scored 1000+ runs in the shortest format in less than 40 matches and hence will be crucial for India’s batting lineup.

The veteran wicketkeeper batter is expected to get a nod ahead of out-of-touch Rishabh Pant and is expected to play the finisher’s role to perfection. Karthik has played little cameos on the limited occasions he has batted and remains a vital cog in India’s batting lineup.

All-rounders: Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel

Since regaining his full fitness, Hardik Pandya has just been seen winning games single-handedly for India and is contributing in all three facets of the game. He has been striking at 151.39 since coming back into the team and is expected to play with this same aggressive intent in the world cup. He provides the team with the necessary balance, i.e., the 6th bowler.

With no Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel is the only like-for-like replacement. The left-arm orthodox has shown what he can do in the recently concluded T20I series against Australia and South Africa. He will have the big task of filling the void created by Jadeja’s absence.

Bowlers: Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar

India will have to choose between Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal to accompany Axar in the spin department. While this is a touch-and-go call, the former could be a better option given the opposition and recent form.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar will now shoulder the responsibility of leading the bowling attack in the T20 World Cup in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah. He is lethal with the new bowl as he can swing the bowl both ways, creating problems for the batters at the top. He is India’s top wicket-taker in this format this year. However, his death bowling is a concern, but these four games before the marquee clash will help him execute these skills much better.

Bhuvneshwar will be joined by Mohammed Shami who was named as the replacement for Jasprit Bumrah. Although Shami has not gotten a chance to play in a T20I since last year’s World Cup but the pacer was instrumental in his franchise’s (Gujarat Titans) title victory. Shami took wickets with the new ball and also contained runs at the end and also performed well in the warm-up matches.

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