T20 World Cup 2022: India's predicted playing XI against Pakistan
Exactly one year after their chastening 10-wicket loss to Pakistan in the 2021 edition, Team India will face off against their arch-rivals on Sunday, October 23 at the MCG in the Super 12 stage of the 2022 T20 World Cup.
India have been training hard in Melbourne ahead of the contest, with a special emphasis on countering the Pakistan pace battery. Captain Rohit Sharma has been vocal about backing the side's regular players and not making too many changes for the marquee match.
Here is India's predicted playing XI for the high-octane clash against Pakistan.
Openers: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul
Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul won't have fond memories of facing up against Shaheen Shah Afridi, but they'll need to dig deep and tackle their demons head-on. India need their openers to not only survive the new-ball burst but also get stuck in post the powerplay.
Middle order: Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Dinesh Karthik (wk)
Virat Kohli loves ICC tournaments, especially when they involve matches against Pakistan. Expect the big man to come up with a big performance on the big stage.
Suryakumar Yadav hasn't enjoyed much success against Pakistan, but he's been in terrific form of late. The cornerstone of the Indian batting, SKY will need to take on Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan with aplomb to keep the innings on course.
Dinesh Karthik should play as a finisher once again, having leapfrogged Rishabh Pant in the pecking order. Although that would leave India without a left-hander in the top five, DK is impossible to leave out on current form. How will the veteran keeper-batter fare in his first T20 World Cup game since the inaugural edition?
All-rounders: Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel
Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel have become two of India's most important T20I players. While the former has batted at No. 5 over the last year, Axar has slotted into the Ravindra Jadeja role seamlessly. Hardik's bowling form and Axar's flexibility in the batting order are slight concerns for the Men in Blue at the moment, though.
Bowlers: Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar
It's in the bowling department that India have a couple of questions to answer. Do they play Mohammad Shami, who has bowled only over since recovering from COVID-19? Do they back Harshal Patel, who has been plundered for runs in almost every game he has played since recovering from injury?
Rohit talked up Shami's inclusion, saying that the pacer is fit and bowling well in the nets. His final-over burst in the warm-up match might just help him steal a march over Harshal, with Arshdeep Singh being the side's premier death bowler.
As far as spinners go, Ravichandran Ashwin might pip Yuzvendra Chahal to a place in India's playing XI. He has good match-ups against Pakistan and his inclusion at No. 8 would also make it easier to play Shami ahead of Harshal.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has gone under the radar amid all the talk about Shami and Harshal. It must be said that Bhuvi and Shami share similar skillsets, but Rohit has spoken about keeping faith in the core players. It's tough to pick the direction India will choose, but Harshal could be the man to miss out against Pakistan.