Asia Cup 2018: India's bold probable XI against Pakistan
The much anticipated India vs Pakistan contest is only a day away. It's expected that Pakistan, as usual, will have up to four pacers in their playing XI, including Mohammad Amir, Usman Khan, Hassan Ali, and Faheem Ashraf. India, on the other hand, are certain to play at least two spinners.
India have made it clear in the lead-up to the Asia Cup 2018 that they will experiment with various combinations to help nail down their best XI for the World Cup in 2019. Moreover, the recently completed England tour has exposed some vulnerabilities in India's line-up that need to be addressed.
One of the advantages of a tournament like the Asia Cup is that it serves as a dry-run for a bigger event like the World Cup. The pressures of playing multiple matches against multiple opponents over a fortnight gives teams the opportunity to observe their players perform under duress.
Moreover, it provides them a window into observing how opponents exploit potential weaknesses in their team. So, against Pakistan, India must make two surprising but bold changes to their line-up:
#1 Drop Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan has a been a solid cog in the top order of India's ODI side for a long time, along with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. However, the England and South Africa tours have clearly exposed his vulnerabilities against quality pace bowling on wickets that are conducive to seam and swing bowling. KL Rahul, on the other hand, has shown good form and promise on such wickets, as his century in the final Test against England indicated.
In light of India's preparation for the World Cup and, given that Pakistan, in the Asia Cup, is a pace-heavy opponent, Dhawan should be dropped and replaced by KL Rahul at the top of the order. Dhawan's supporters may point to favorable batting conditions in the UAE, in support of retaining him in the line-up. But, given India's aim of finding a permanent all-condition opener for the World Cup, it's prudent to give an in-form KL Rahul a promotion to the top of the order ahead of Dhawan.
#2 Drop Hardik Pandya and replace him with Axar Patel
Hardik Pandya is a promising all rounder who has exhibited flashes of brilliance occasionally. However, at this point, as an all-rounder, he is unable to dependably deliver ten overs per match. Moreover, his batting has also been inconsistent and particularly less productive against fast bowlers. Clearly, India should remain invested in him as a developing prospect.
However, it's also wise to sit him out against Pakistan against whom a left-arm spinner like Axar Patel may prove more useful, in terms of providing India with a better sixth bowler option. Moreover, he's no slouch with the bat either. In addition, Pakistan is yet to be tested against a high quality spin attack in the UAE. India's two wrist spinner and two finger spinner combination may prove to be a difficult challenge for them to handle on Dubai's slow turning pitch.
So, India should be bold and must test their bench strength going into the Asia Cup. Here's what their probable XI should be against Pakistan on September 19:
R. Sharma (C), KL Rahul, A. Rayudu, M. Pandey, MS Dhoni, K. Jadhav, A. Patel, B. Kumar, K. Yadav, Y. Chahal, J. Bumrah.