T20 World Cup 2021: Former Indian players name their India playing XIs for the clash against Pakistan

Former Indian cricketers have expressed their excitement and anticipation for the high octane clash between India and Pakistan today. Some of them named their Indian playing XIs for this match and shared it with the fans through their official Twitter accounts.

Most former cricketers chose KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy as their ten players.

There were mixed opinions about the one remaining bowler slot. Some stuck with Bhuvneshwar Kumar considering his vast experience in T20 cricket, while a few went with Shardul Thakur, considering his brilliant current form.

Here are the playing XIs chosen by some of the former Indian cricketers:

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The team we have on paper, we should be beating Pakistan easily: Harbhajan Singh

Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh opined that Team India have a strong side and can easily win against Pakistan if the players execute their plans well on the field.

However, he also pointed out that Pakistan are a dangerous side and can beat any team in the world on their day.

Previewing the India versus Pakistan match, Harbhajan Singh told on Sportskeeda's Special World Cup show:

"Pakistan is an unpredictable side and can beat anyone. I won't compare the two teams as they both play differently and I don't think we should be focussing too much on past records because they haven't played each other too much."

He added:

"Statistics come into the picture when both teams have played each other a lot and one has won the most. The team we have on paper, we should be beating Pakistan easily but it all depends on what you do once you are on the playing field."

Both India and Pakistan will square off tonight in their opening encounter of the 2021 T20 World Cup.

It is the first match between the two sides in two years. Because of this, fans are excited to witness this high-intensity clash between arch-rivals.