T20 World Cup: India Playing XI vs Pakistan: 3 spots up for grabs – After two warm-up matches and testing all the players in the 15-man squad, Virat Kohli & Co are ready to take on Pakistan in the T20 World Cup. That India eased to victories in the two warm-up matches against England and Australia will be a big motivating factor ahead of the blockbuster clash against Pakistan on Sunday. However, India will still have to get their Playing XI sorted before Sunday and the biggest selection headaches will be between Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya & Shardul Thakur.
While India’s Top-3 slots are cemented with KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma opening and Virat Kohli at No 3, the No 4 slot is up for debate once again. In Suryakumar Yadav, India had their best hope for the No 4 position. But the second half of IPL 2021 proved to be a huge demotivating factor. He lost his form along with Mumbai Indians teammate Ishan Kishan. But Ishan Kishan’s return to form has given a big selection headache for Virat Kohli.
India Playing XI vs Pakistan: After two warm-up matches, Virat Kohli still undecided on 3 spots – Check out
Even though considered as a backup opener, his three consecutive half-centuries have put him ahead of Suryakumar for the No 4 position. Then there is Hardik Pandya and Shardul Thakur debate – who should get the nod. The spin combination is the other major challenge for team management.
T20 World Cup: India Playing XI vs Pakistan: Spots that are sealed
- Opening slot: KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma will open barring any late injuries. The spots are sealed.
- No 3: With Virat Kohli confirming he will bat at No 3, it closes the debate on whether the Indian captain should bat at No 4 given his dwindling form.
- No 4: ? Up for grabs with Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav competing for the role.
- No 5: Rishabh Pant will be batting at No 5. For Delhi Capitals, he often batted at No 3 and 4 and it will help him in the campaign as well in case of a top-order collapse.
- No 6 ? With Hardik Pandya getting the finisher role, Ravindra Jadeja is slotted in at No 6. He is expected to play the role of Krunal Pandya in the T20s and he is already an established star of Team India.
- No 7: ? Still up for grabs with Virat Kohli to choose between Shardul Thakur and Hardik Pandya.
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No 8: The Conditions at Dubai aren’t in favour of three spinners and that has opened up the debate on who should play Ravichandran Ashwin or Varun Chakravarthy.- No 9: Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s outing against Australia was a sigh of relief for Team India. He is an important player for India and barring Sharjah, he is likely to be India’s third pacer.
- No 10: Mohammed Shami has established himself as an all-format pacer alongside Jasprit Bumrah. He has done well in IPL and has been amongst wickets even though at times, he has been costly.
- No 11: India’s ace bowler Jasprit Bumrah was rested for the Australia warm-up match considering his workload but he is set to be the first name on the team sheet. Be it IPL 2021 or the England Test series, Bumrah has proven to be the spearhead of India’s pace attack.
No 8: The Conditions at Dubai aren’t in favour of three spinners and that has opened up the debate on who should play Ravichandran Ashwin or Varun Chakravarthy.India Playing XI vs Pakistan: After two warm-up matches, Virat Kohli still undecided on 3 spots – Check out
T20 World Cup: India Playing XI vs Pakistan: Who should bat at No 4?
- Ishan Kishan is currently the frontrunner with scores of 50*, 84 and 70* in the last three innings.
- Especially his strike rate has impressed all. In those 3 innings, he had strike rates of 200.00, 262.50 and 152.17.
- Suryakumar Yadav seemed to return to form with a fiery 82-run knock in IPL 2021 but since then he failed against England, returning for just 8.
- Against Australia, he smashed 38 off 27 balls to guide India to a facile victory.
- Unlike Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav can slow down when needed and that makes him a more reliable batsman.
- Against Pakistan in a high-pressure T20 World Cup match, India may go ahead with an experienced player in Surya.
India Playing XI vs Pakistan: After two warm-up matches, Virat Kohli still undecided on 3 spots – Check out
Also Read in Hindi: India vs Pakistan- T20 World Cup: टीम इंडिया के खिलाफ 2007 फाइनल खेलने वाले शोएब मलिक और हफीज फिर मैदान में उतरेंगे, जानिए क्या होगी पाकिस्तान की प्लेइंग-11
T20 World Cup: India Playing XI vs Pakistan: Who will be India’s second spinner?
- Varun Chakravarthy was supposed to be India’s mystery spinner but against Australia, he didn’t look convincing.
- Ravichandran Ashwin aced the test with a spell of 2/8 in two overs.
- He was consistent and hard to hit and that could make him the best weapon against Pakistan.
- Hardik Pandya and Shardul Thakur are the two contenders for the slot but pitch condition will play a key role.
- Hardik will play as a pure batsman and if India need to go with the 4th pacer, Shardul Thakur will come in.
- Hardik Pandya’s batting form in IPL 2021 wasn’t up to the mark. Furthermore, his absence from bowling due to a back injury has added another problem.
- Instead, Hardik has been tasked with the finisher role and to play as a batsman. Considering he is a big match player with a lot of experience, Team India is likely to consider him.
