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India will play their sixth match of the 2023 World Cup against England at the Bharat Ratna Shree Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Sunday, October 29.
If India win this match, they will likely seal their place in the semifinals. A win for the Men in Blue will also result in an early elimination for England from the tournament.
All-rounder Hardik Pandya will reportedly miss this match. As a result, India will have to think a bit about their bowling combination. In the previous match at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala, India brought in an extra seamer in the form of Mohammed Shami.
India also have the options of Ravichandran Ashwin and Shardul Thakur available in the squad. Ashwin played against Australia in Chennai and bowled a decent spell. In this article now, we will try to analyze which player India should pick for tomorrow's 2023 World Cup match.
Why India may prefer having a 3rd seamer in their playing XI for the 2023 World Cup match against England
Lucknow generally offers a slow surface, but after the IPL, the curators changed the pitch. The new wicket at the Bharat Ratna Shree Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium is better for batting.
In the last match on this ground, the Netherlands scored 262 runs against Sri Lanka, which is a sign that conditions have been better for batting at this venue.
Had the old Lucknow pitch been used in the 2023 World Cup, India would have been tempted to pick an extra spin option in the playing XI.
However, the pitch has changed, and in the last match at this venue, Sri Lanka's fast bowlers Dilshan Madushanka and Kasun Rajitha bagged four wickets each. Before that, Kagiso Rabada took three wickets against Australia.
Thus, India may not prefer picking Ravichandran Ashwin in the playing XI. They are likely to stick with their strategy of three specialist seamers - Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami.
