ICC World Cup 2019 – Match 22: IND vs PAK – Pakistan Predicted Playing XI

Pakistan haven’t had the best possible start to the World Cup 2019. The team lost two out of four games and won just one while the other was washed out. They stand on the eighth position on the points table and could be slightly low on morale. But none of these factors will weigh in when they take on Team India in their next encounter of the tournament.

The team has suffered six consecutive losses against the same opposition in different editions of the World Cup. Thus, it is a wonderful opportunity for the ‘Men in Green’ to avenge for these losses. They defeated India on the England soil two years ago in the final of the Champions Trophy. Hence, they should look to draw some motivation from this inspirational win and look to do a repeat of it once again.

Here is the Predicted Playing XI for Pakistan

Openers (Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman)

The form of the openers is a slight bit of concern for Pakistan as they head into the next game. Except for the 36 that he scored against England, Fakhar Zaman looked uncomfortable in the other two outings. The left-hander bagged a third ball duck against Australia and must look to perform on a more consistent basis.

Imam-ul-Haq, though, has scored a fine half-century against the same opposition. The 23-year-old laid a good platform for his team for others to capitalise. However, he scored his runs at a slower pace than he would have liked. Imam took 75 balls to score 53 runs and it wasn’t his best of outings. He should look to score at a slightly better pace in the next match.

Middle Order (Babar Azam, Sarfaraz Ahmed (c)(wk), Asif Ali)

Babar Azam looked gorgeous and pleasing to the eye in the match against Australia. He played some of the most mesmerising shots and no one would have ever wanted him to get out. But he threw his start away after scoring 30 runs off 28 balls and couldn’t capitalise on it. Though, he is a great talent and will hope to come good in the upcoming game.

Sarfaraz Ahmed should continue batting at five. He is good at the rotation of the strike and hits timely boundaries. The Pakistan skipper fought hard right till the end in the previous encounter but couldn’t take his team over the line. He is a great choice to bat at this position. Asif Ali hasn’t really fired as yet in the tournament. He should look to bat for a longer period of time and must finish games for his team.

All Rounders (Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Shadab Khan)

Mohammad Hafeez has been one of the best batsmen for Pakistan in this tournament. He scored a crucial 84 against England and followed that up with a 46 when he faced Australia. Hafeez often does well against India and averages nearly 49 against this opposition. In the 11 innings that he batted against India, the Pakistani veteran has registered 3 half-centuries and one century. He will look to carry on with this good form.

It will be interesting to see if Shoaib Malik can overcome his struggles in England. He averages just under 14 while batting in the country and there is a massive scope of improvement. Being the senior member of this team, he should take the onus upon himself and must bring out better performances. Shadab Khan was a surprise exclusion in the last game and is most likely to be back in the side in place of Shaheen Afridi.

Bowlers (Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir)

The economy rate of Hasan Ali needs attention. While he is usually quite miserly with the ball, that unfortunately hasn’t been the case in the last few weeks that he has spent in England. While there have been a few good performances, Hasan should look to maintain the consistency. Mohammad Amir, finding his form back just at the right time has been the biggest positive for Pakistan.

The five-wicket haul against Australia should give him truckloads of confidence and he will look to test the Indian openers with the new ball. With Virat Kohli also slightly tentative against the moving ball, Amir along with Wahab Riaz will look to exploit the conditions. Both these pacers have been great at the death as well.