ICC World Cup 2019 – Match 44: SL vs IND – India Predicted Playing XI

After their first loss of the tournament against England, Team India came back strong in the last game against Bangladesh. While the game seemed to have got quite close, the players maintained their cool under pressure and registered an important win. The ‘Men in Blue’ will be taking on Sri Lanka in their final league game before the knockouts.

The team is currently placed second on the points table but they’ll surely fancy the top spot by winning this game. Workload management is an important factor the management might have an eye on before the semi-final. There is a possibility that they rest some of the players for the upcoming encounter.

Here is the Predicted Playing XI for India

Openers (KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma)

The management will want to give KL Rahul as much time as possible in the middle. His role has been quite clear. He is playing the second fiddle to Rohit Sharma and is trying to see off the new ball. He scored 77 in the previous outing but will want to convert such knocks into triple figures this time around.

After registering two back-to-back centuries in the tournament, Rohit Sharma will want to make it a hat-trick without any doubt. He absolutely loves this opposition and is usually lethal against them. While there might be talks of testing Mayank Agarwal in this match, it doesn’t seem a possibility at this stage in the tournament.

Middle Order (Virat Kohli (c), Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik)

Virat Kohli suffered a rare failure against Bangladesh and will look to come back strong. He is still due for a hundred in the tournament and this could well be the match when he gets there. Rishabh Pant has done a good job at number four. He is scoring his runs at a really good pace and has been a valuable addition to the team.

While the fans are expecting quite a lot from MS Dhoni, the man is doing his job perfectly. If not for his knock, India might not have got past 300 against Bangladesh. He had to ensure that there wasn’t any collapse and that really made the difference when things boiled down right at the end. Dinesh Karthik, who made his World Cup debut in the last game, is likely to get another opportunity to prove his potential.

All Rounders (Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja)

While he couldn’t go big with the bat in the last match, Hardik Pandya more than made up with the ball. He adds a terrific balance to this team as he contributes in all the three departments of the game. The all-rounder has had a few issues with his back but should be able to pull himself through for the remaining games. He might not require any rest at this stage.

Jasprit Bumrah has played every single game thus far in the tournament. He has had a lot of work to do and might need a break. The management will want him fresh for the semis and the team has been playing some non-stop cricket in the last ten days. Thus, this is a perfect time to rest him and Ravindra Jadeja is likely to get an opportunity in his place.

Bowlers (Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal)

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was back in the team for the last match. Playing after a gap of two weeks, he wasn’t at his complete best. The pacer was slightly rusty but got better as he bowled more overs. He is quite good at the death and will spearhead the attack if Bumrah is rested. Mohammed Shami will share the pace duties with Bhuvi.

Shami has been amongst the wickets in the tournament. But the fact that the oppositions are looking to go after him has helped his cause. He should look to bowl tighter lengths and lines. At this point in time, Yuzvendra Chahal is clearly the preferred choice to be in the eleven and will hold on to his place.