India and Pakistan will have a crack against each other in a much-awaited contest on September 2 in Sri Lanka’s Kandy. The two giants, who meet only in multi-nation tournaments, will be locking horns against each other for the first time in a 50-over game since 2019. While Pakistan play their second and final game in the group stage, the Men in Blue will begin their campaign in the continental event.
A day before the contest, Pakistan named their Playing XI for the clash. The team that took down Nepal in a cakewalk win will face India as no changes have been made in the Babar Azam-led side. However, there are still some questions the Men in Blue need to answer in their team for the match. Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer tried solving them as he named his Indian side for the clash. Interestingly, Jaffer made a complete overhaul in India’s batting. As KL Rahul will be missing the first two contests, Kishan is set to get opportunities before the former returns.
The former Indian batter Jaffer went with Ishan Kishan to open the innings alongside captain Rohit Sharma, while he pushed Shubman Gill down to No.3. Jaffer changed Shreyas Iyer’s position too as he made Virat Kohli to play at two down, pushing Iyer at five. The 45-year-old then went with Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja for the lower middle order but picked Shardul Thakur at No.8 due to his batting credentials. He kept Mohammed Shami out as Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav were his bowling picks.
“If I had to pick the top four, I would go with Rohit and Ishan to open. Shubman Gill at three and Virat at four. Shreyas Iyer at five, Hardik at six, and Jadeja at seven. I will go with Shardul Thakur to make the batting a little longer even though you want to play your three best seamers. But with Siraj Bumrah and Hardik bowling, we have got the bases covered. I don’t want the batting to finish at 7. Shardul is a capable batsman and he picks wickets. He has got that knack of picking wickets. Then Bumrah, Siraj, and Kuldeep complete my Playing XI,” Jaffer said to ESPNCricinfo.
Wasim Jaffer’s Indian team for match againts Pakistan:
Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
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