Asia Cup 2022: Match 2 - Predicted Pakistan Playing XI vs India

India and Pakistan are set to lock horns against each other in a mouth-watering clash at the Dubai International Stadium on August 28 in Asia Cup 2022 Group A fixture. The Men in Green recently whitewashed the Netherlands in a three-match ODI series in their own backyard and most of the names from the squad have been retained.

Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Wasim will miss out due to injuries while Mohammad Hasnain and Hasan Ali have been named as replacements for the side. The Babar Azam-led side will be looking to take a leaf out of their own book from the tremendous performance against India in the T20 World Cup 2021 last year.

Coming to the personnel, the experienced veteran batter Shoaib Malik hasn’t been in the scheme of things for the Asia Cup 2022 and it will be down to the young middle order to step up against a quality Indian side. With all those said, here is the predicted Pakistan playing XI for the game against India.

Openers – Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan

Babar Azam will lead his side in the Asia Cup 2022 and the 27-year-old will be the player to watch out for from the Pakistan batting line-up. The right-hander has had a great run across formats and recently notched up three consecutive fifties against the Netherlands. He has the ability to play long innings and is quite consistent with a tremendous technique on display.

Mohammad Rizwan will play the wicketkeeper role and he has enjoyed the role of opening in the T20I format for Pakistan. The right-hander has an average of 50.4 in T20Is and has gained a lot of confidence through partnerships with his skipper. The 30-year-old likes to keep the scoreboard ticking and is a busy player at the crease.

Middle Order – Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Asif Ali

Fakhar Zaman is one of the most destructive players going around and he can take the game away from the opponents quickly once he settles into his groove. The left-hander is coming off an excellent PSL season this year and recently scored a century against the Netherlands in the first ODI.

Iftikhar Ahmed hasn’t had many chances despite being with the side since his international debut in 2016 and has played just 18 T20Is so far. He has a strike rate of 134 which will be handy coming in at four and the 31-year-old has enough experience in the bank to play those impactful innings for Pakistan.

Asif Ali set the stage on fire in the previous T20 World Cup with some breathtaking shots and is one of the strongest finishers going around. The 30-year-old could be sent up the order if the openers set up a good platform and he can hit sixes at ease which is highly rated in the shorter formats.

All-rounders – Khusdhil Shah, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz

Khusdhil Shah will have a big role to play in the side as a batting all-rounder who can chip in with some overs if needed. The 27-year-old had a good PSL season this year and he will have tough competition from the likes of Haider Ali who can hit the big ones.

Shadab Khan has grown in heaps and bounds in the last few years and is showing excellent progress as an all-rounder. The 23-year-old had a brilliant PSL season with the bat and played some memorable innings for his PSL side. He is quite handy with his leg spin and Pakistan will be hoping to get the best out of him.

Mohammad Nawaz has been a useful all-round option for the Pakistan side and he has made some decent contributions down the order in the T20I format for Pakistan. The left-arm spinner has picked up 25 wickets in 30 T20Is at an economy rate of 7.15 and can also bowl in different phases of the game.

Bowlers – Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain

Having made his international debut as early as a 16-year-old, Naseem Shah has matured into a much more controlled bowler but not comprising on his pace. The 19-year-old can crank up the pace and recently picked up a five-wicket haul against the Netherlands in his first ODI series.

Haris Rauf has been around for a while now since the previous T20 World Cup and has been a crucial part of the bowling lineup with his extra pace and his variations in the death overs. The right-arm quick will lead the bowling attack for Pakistan in absence of Shaheen Afridi.

Mohammad Hasnain was called up as the replacement for Shaheen Afridi and he is likely to get the nod ahead of Shahnawaz Dahani against India. The right-arm quick had issues with his action earlier which pulled him out of international action for a while and he will be looking to make a strong comeback into the side.