The most awaited and high voltage clash of the T20 World Cup 2021 will see India taking on Pakistan in Dubai on October 24, 2021. This will be the first time the archrivals will face off in international cricket since their encounter in the 2019 World Cup in Manchester.
India, as every cricket fan knows, enjoys a 5-0 advantage over Pakistan in T20 World Cups, and their last encounter in the tournament came in 2016 when India beat Pakistan in Kolkata, thanks to the heroics of Virat Kohli.
Given the intensity and importance of the clash, TEAM COC presents the Predicted Team India playing XI for the match vs Pakistan.
KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma are expected to be the first-choice openers for the Indian team given their proven records in the format. Both have multiple centuries in T20Is and Rohit is perhaps one of the all-time greats of the game in this format.
Though Ishan Kishan has been picked as an opener, India will not touch the tried and tested duo of Rohit and Rahul for this high-intensity encounter. Virat Kohli is the highest run-getter in T20Is and has said that he’ll bat at the no.3 spot.
Suryakumar Yadav is the best India can get at no.4 given his ability to pick apart both spin and pace with ease. He can hit the big shots to keep the nerves calm in middle overs as well.
Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya are the best finishers a team can ask for. Pant is coming off a decent IPL 2021, while Pandya showed in the warmup games, that he still has his big shots going for him and he has a good record against Pakistan in crunch matches with both the bat and ball.
Ravindra Jadeja is expected to be the first-choice spinner-cum-allrounder in the team and it will be a tossup between Varun Chakravarthy and R Ashwin for the second spinner slot. India might even opt for Rahul Chahar to give Pakistan some food for thought with the leggie in the mix.
The fast bowling contingent has Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami almost confirmed, while they will have to choose between Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shardul Thakur for the spot of the third pacer in the XI.
This is a crunch match for India and a good start in this match will set them up well for the rest of the tournament as well, given the pressure and weightage of this match against Pakistan will be taken off their shoulders.
COC Predicted Team India playing XI vs Pakistan:
Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (C), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy
