T20 World Cup 2021: India's predicted playing XI against Scotland
India still have some fight in them at the 2021 T20 World Cup! Their crushing win over Afghanistan was ample proof of the same, with captain Virat Kohli making his intentions to battle it out until the death extremely clear.
India's fourth Super 12 game will be against Scotland on Friday, November 5 at the Dubai International Stadium and it will present them with an excellent opportunity to boost their net run rate.
After a convincing win against Afghanistan that saw many of India's issues addressed, the Men in Blue are unlikely to make too many changes to a settled combination. However, there is one alteration India might seriously consider.
Here is their predicted playing XI for the T20 World Cup encounter against Scotland.
T20 World Cup 2021: India's predicted playing XI against Scotland
India's top seven pick themselves. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul stitched together a brilliant opening partnership, treating themselves to attacking fifties and setting the platform for a late charge from big hitters Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya.
Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav weren't needed with the bat but they will play key roles for India in the middle order against Scotland, who have three very capable spinners in Mark Watt, Michael Leask and Chris Greaves. Ravindra Jadeja, who is an indispensable part of the Indian playing XI across formats, will slot in at No. 7.
One change India should seriously consider is bringing Varun Chakravarthy back into the playing XI. The mystery spinner went wicketless in his first two games and missed the Afghanistan clash with a niggle, with his replacement Ravichandran Ashwin registering excellent figures of 2/14.
But instead of taking Ashwin's place, Chakravarthy could replace Shardul Thakur in the playing XI. Thakur has been expensive in each of the two games thus far, and hasn't offered much of a threat in the middle overs or at the death. With Hardik having bowled two overs in each of India's last two games, he might be enough to handle the third pacer's role.
The most important reason why Chakravarthy might be brought into the playing XI is that he offers an excellent option for India to run through the Scotland batting order. Scotland struggled majorly against the guile and mystery of Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan in their first Super 12 game, and they wouldn't have seen much of Chakravarthy.
With India already having two solid spinners, they could turn their strong bowling attack into a completely potent one with the inclusion of Chakravarthy. Ashwin offers some batting depth that might be lost in the absence of Thakur, and it must be said that India will probably be out of the semi-final race if their batting innings needs the services of their No. 8 anyway.
Charkavarthy took part in some intense fitness drills on the eve of the encounter, lending weight to claims that he might be in the mix against Scotland. Otherwise, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami will continue to serve as the two frontline pacers.
India's predicted playing XI against Scotland: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy
View the T20 World Cup 2021 prediction here.