India cricket team have opted to go with the same playing XI as in the previous game for the IND vs PAK tie at Asia Cup, which means Arshdeep Singh will continue to sit out. Despite being India’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is, with 99 wickets to his name, the southpaw will continue to warm the bench. Pakistan, on the other hand, have also decided to go with the same line-up that they had for their tournament opener.
IND vs PAK playing XIs
India: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson(w), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy
Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Haris(w), Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha(c), Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed
India’s selection of the playing XI means Arshdeep will have to wait for his chance to become the first Indian bowler to get 100 wickets in T20Is. This also means that the Men in Blue will persist with the combination of Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya as the pace spearheads, with Shivam Dube playing second fiddle. It is pertinent to point out that while Pandya bowled just one over in the previous game against UAE, Bumrah took only one wicket.
Meanwhile, the team goes ahead of the three-spinner combo of Kuldeep, Chakravarthy and Axar. The batting order remains unchanged as well, despite vice-captain Gill copping a blow to his hand during nets before the IND vs PAK tie. Sanju Samson, who did not get a chance to bat in the previous game, will be hoping to get some game time against a formidable Pakistan side.
Pakistan have also decided to pursue with the spin-heavy unit for the game against their arch-rivals. All eyes would be on Mohammad Nawaz, who was dubbed by head coach Mike Hesson as the best spinner in the world at the moment.
