India's Predicted XI vs Pakistan: Suryakumar, All-Rounder Spot In Focus

The Indian cricket team is set to lock horns with arch-rivals Pakistan in the ODI Cricket World Cup 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday. Both teams are coming into this contest on the back of victories in their last couple of games, but India have looked more convincing with their performances so far. Moreover, India has a slight mental edge going into this contest as they have always maintained an upper hand over Pakistan in ODI Cricket World Cups, and they also registered a massive 228-run victory over their arch-rivals in the recent Asia Cup 2023 clash. It remains to be seen how this battle is going to turn out now. Here we shall take a look at India's playing XI for this highly anticipated clash against Pakistan.

Openers: Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill

Shubman Gill missed the first two matches of the tournament as he was reportedly suffering from dengue but skipper Rohit Sharma said that there is “99 per cent chance” of the youngster making his ODI Cricket World Cup debut. In Gill's absence, Kishan opened the batting but it is likely that he will not find a place in the playing XI against Pakistan. Rohit made a duck against Australia but he bounced back with a 131 from just 84 deliveries against Afghanistan. He is expected to carry his form forward.

Middle-order: Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul

Kohli, Iyer and Rahul will slot in at No. 3, 4 and 5 respectively. Kohli has enjoyed great success in this tournament so far, playing match-winning hands of 84 and 55* against Australia and Afghanistan respectively. Iyer got dismissed for a duck against Australia but remained unbeaten on 25 against Afghanistan. KL Rahul, who has been in sublime form since his return from injury, has also delivered with a match-winning knock of 97* against Australia. Both Kohli and Rahul made centuries against Pakistan in the Asia Cup recently, so this middle-order will have a big role to play in this clash.

All-rounders: Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, and Shardul Thakur

India will go in with three all-rounders in Pandya, Jadeja and Thakur for this crucial clash. Pandya has had brief roles to play in both matches so far. Against Australia, he picked up a wicket and remained unbeaten on 11. He followed that up with another excellent spell against Afghanistan, where he picked up two more wickets. Jadeja, on the other hand, hasn't had the opportunity to bat so far, but he has bowled well in both games, with his best performance coming against Australia. He registered brilliant figures of 10-2-28-3 in that match. Thakur has played only one game so far, which was the previous one against Afghanistan, and he picked up a wicket while going at 5.1 runs per over. It was a decent performance and all three will be eager to make a mark in this crucial clash again.

Bowlers: Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj/Mohammed Shami

Kuldeep has bowled well in both matches, claiming a total of three wickets so far while going at an economy rate of 4.10. Jasprit Bumrah has been India's top wicket-taker with six wickets to his name, and his best performance came with his spell of 4-39 against Afghanistan. Siraj, however, has looked a bit off-colour. He bowled well against Australia, claiming a wicket and going at an economy rate of around 4.00. But he leaked 76 runs in his nine overs against Afghanistan. India could look to give Mohammed Shami a chance in Siraj's place for this high-octane clash.

India's predicted XI for Cricket World Cup 2023 clash against Pakistan - Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w),  Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj/Mohammed Shami

source https://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/cricket-world-cup-2023-indias-predicted-xi-vs-pakistan-suryakumar-yadav-all-rounder-spot-in-focus-4479042