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Team India will commence their Asia Cup 2023 campaign with a clash against arch-rivals Pakistan on Saturday, September 2, in Pallekele, Sri Lanka.
Pakistan have already got off the mark in the competition, thrashing Nepal, the third Group A member, by a whopping 238 runs. India won't be too concerned about their progress into the Super Four, but they will know that they need to be at their best against Babar Azam and Co.
The Men in Blue have almost a full squad to choose from, with KL Rahul being the only absentee during the group stage. While most of their side is settled, there are a couple of questions they must answer.
India's squad for Asia Cup: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammad Shami, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Prasidh Krishna, KL Rahul (wk, unavailable for first two matches).
Here is India's predicted playing XI for their Asia Cup 2023 opener against Pakistan.
Openers: Rohit Sharma (c) and Shubman Gill
India's opening combination is settled, for the most part. Although Rahul's injury means that the only backup keeper in the main squad, Ishan Kishan, is ideally used at the top of the order, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill have probably done far too well to be displaced.
Both Rohit and Gill will need to contend with Pakistan's deadly new-ball pairing of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah. Luckily, the skipper has been in excellent nick against the Men in Green, having notched up successive tons in his last two appearances.
Middle order: Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and Ishan Kishan (wk)
There have been talks of Virat Kohli moving down a spot to accommodate Kishan, but why would you move arguably the world's best No. 3 out of his preferred position? Surely India would not be as silly as to do that, and the superstar batter can be expected to walk in at the fall of the first wicket.
Shreyas Iyer, returning from a long injury layoff, should slot into the middle order ahead of the likes of Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav. An excellent player of spin, Shreyas will have his task cut out against the Pakistan pacers, who are bound to target him with some chin music.
Without Rahul, Kishan is likely to be deployed in the middle order without disturbing the balance of the rest of the side. The southpaw could bat at either No. 4 or No. 5 depending upon the situation.
All-rounders: Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja
Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja, as India's frontline all-rounders in white-ball cricket, will no doubt be part of the playing XI for their Asia Cup 2023 opener against Pakistan. Both players enjoy good records against the opposition and will have integral roles to play.
The Men in Blue have the option of fielding a third all-rounder in Axar Patel in tandem with Hardik and Jadeja. But with rain in the air in Pallekele and the wicket offering something for the seamers as well, they might not want to do that without thoroughly assessing the conditions over the course of a couple of matches in the tournament.
Shardul Thakur is another all-round option who will give India two important things - wicket-taking ability at all phases of the innings and some batting depth at No. 8. While it would be a welcome move should the side decide to go with Thakur, they're probably likely to stick to their guns and beef up their bowling unit with a specialist fast bowler at the cost of the chance of quick runs.
Bowlers: Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Kuldeep Yadav
Mohammad Shami is the clear frontrunner to be the aforementioned fast bowler, although the skiddy Prasidh Krishna is another enticing option. While Shami's numbers in ODIs over the last few years don't make for exceptional reading, he is a quality bowler who can run through any opposition on his day.
Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav are three bowlers who are guaranteed to be part of India's ODI playing XI in the near future. The latter two have been sensational in the format over the last year and a half, with Bumrah showing a fair amount of bowling fitness in the preceding T20I series against Ireland.
