Team India are having a great time in the ongoing Asia Cup. In the group-stage, the Men in Blue registered a crushing 10-wicket victory over Nepal while their marquee encounter against Pakistan was abandoned due to rain.
In the first game of the Super-4 round, India thrashed the arch-rivals by 228 runs and then defeated Sri Lanka by 41 runs to secure a place in the final.
As a result, India’s last Super-4 fixture against Bangladesh, slated to be held in Colombo on Friday (September 15), has become a dead-rubber.
For the Bangladesh game, India are likely to make four or five changes in their XI that last played against Sri Lanka. However, one of these changes is unlikely to involve Shreyas Iyer, Cricbuzz reported on Thursday (September 14).
The middle-order batter, who was unavailable for selection in the first two Super-4 games, spent nearly 20 minutes at the team's optional nets on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the report suggests that Iyer has not yet fully recovered and is unlikely to feature in the match against Bangladesh. In such a scenario, it is highly unlikely that he will be tested in the final against Sri Lanka on Sunday (September 17).
Besides, fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj are expected to be rested. The decision to rest Bumrah is understandable since the right-arm quick recently returned to the team after a long injury lay-off. Moreover, there is also a strong desire to provide game time to two other pacers – Mohammad Shami and Prasidh Krishna.
Seam-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur, who was left out of the playing XI in the last match in favour of Akshar Patel, might also return since Hardik Pandya is likely to be rested as well.
Changes may also be expected in the batting line-up to provide an opportunity to Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma, with the former being the more likely candidate given that he is also part of the World Cup squad. Hence, it won’t be surprising to see one of the top-order batters getting rested.
When enquired about these potential changes, India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey said: "We have an opportunity to give the rest of the players a chance to play. So definitely it is open. I think the captain will announce it tomorrow (Friday). But it is an option as we have already qualified (for the final), so we will see tomorrow."
(With Cricbuzz Inputs)
