Pakistan will be the first opponent for the Indian cricket team in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022. The Men in Blue battled their arch-rivals in the previous edition of the mega event as well. Playing under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, Team India lost to Pakistan by 10 wickets in that battle at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Almost one year has passed since that night, and a lot of things have changed in Indian cricket. Rohit Sharma is now the captain of the team, and here’s what he said in the pre-match press conference:
“I don’t believe in last-minute decisions. We want to keep our boys informed about team selection before so that they can prepare early. I already have my XI for the Pakistan match. Already, those players are informed. I don’t believe in last-minute thing.”
There are 15 players present in the Indian squad, and the following four of them might not play in the game against the Men in Green:
1. Harshal Patel might unluckily miss out for match against Pakistan
India are likely to play with three fast bowlers and a fast-bowling all-rounder in Hardik Pandya. The three fast bowlers could be powerplay specialist Bhuvneshwar Kumar, death overs specialist Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Shami, who can bowl in both powerplay and death overs.
2. Rishabh Pant may not play against Pakistan
Indian wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant was sitting with a strapped knee during the warm-up match against Australia. It means that he is having an injury and may miss the game.
3. Deepak Hooda
India’s batting order looks very much settled. Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik should form the top six, meaning there is no place for Deepak Hooda.
4. R Ashwin
This one is a tough call as R Ashwin and Axar Patel are the two options available for the spin-bowling all-rounder’s slot. Patel has a slight upper hand here, but it will be interesting to see which player makes the cut.
