India cricket team are likely to stick with Arshdeep Singh in their playing XI for the Super 4 match against Pakistan on Sunday. Suryakumar Yadav and co. have remained unbeaten so far in the Asia Cup 2025 and will be looking to extend that run by taking down PAK once again. While Jasprit Bumrah is expected to return to the playing XI after being left out of the Oman tie, there is uncertainty over Axar Patel’s availability after his injury scare on Friday.
Predicted India XI vs Pakistan
| Position | Player | Role |
| 1. | Abhishek Sharma | Opener |
| 2. | Shubman Gill (VC) | Opener |
| 3. | Suryakumar Yadav (C) | Batter |
| 4. | Tilak Varma | Batter |
| 5. | Sanju Samson (WK) | Keeper-Batter |
| 6. | Shivam Dube | All-rounder |
| 7. | Hardik Pandya | All-rounder |
| 8. | Axar Patel | All-rounder |
| 9. | Varun Chakravarthy | Spinner |
| 10. | Kuldeep Yadav | Spinner |
| 11. | Jasprit Bumrah | Pacer |
Arshdeep back on bench?
Arshdeep created history on Saturday by becoming the first bowler to bag 100 wickets in T20Is. After being left out of the playing XI for the games against UAE and Pakistan, the southpaw made an instant impact on his return in the game against Oman. However, it won’t come as a surprise if he is back to warming the bench again in the game against PAK.
India will want to have a good batting depth while also persisting with the three-spinner strategy. While Axar is likely to be fit and fine for the contest, India will revert to their old strategy and allow him to partner with Kuldeep and Chakravarthy. Bumrah, Hardik and Dube will comprise of India’s pace battery. Arshdeep’s services won’t be needed for two main reasons: One, the surface in Dubai is quite slow and India need more spinners and batting power. Second, with Bumrah returning, there will hardly be any need for the southpaw in the XI.
No tinkering with the batting
Captain Suryakumar Yadav and coach Gautam Gambhir are unlikely to make any changes to the batting unit. India currently boast of a great batting depth that goes all the way down till Axar Patel at number 8.
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