IND vs PAK Predicted Playing XI, T20 World Cup: Can Kuldeep Yadav boost India’s lineup vs Pakistan?

T20 World Cup 2024: India is coming into this marquee clash with a comfortable win over Ireland in its opening match of the tournament, but Pakistan had a forgettable outing against host United States of America.

India’s Ravindra Jadeja during the practice session ahead of the match against Pakistan. | Photo Credit: DEEPAK KR/ The Hindu

India will take on Pakistan in a high-octane group ‘A’ fixture of the T20 World Cup 2024 set to be played at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on Sunday.

India is coming into this marquee clash with a comfortable win over Ireland in its opening match of the tournament, but Pakistan had a forgettable outing against host United States of America.

There are plenty of talks going around the pitch in New York: whether it will aid batters or bowlers. India played its previous match at the same venue went in with three specialist fast bowlers plus Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube as additional pacers along with two spinners - both left-arm - Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel.

The combination worked well against Ireland, giving options in bowling department while maintaining depth in the batting.

India is unlikely to tinker with the playing XI however the management will be scratching heads in order to add Kuldeep Yadav, who is possibly the top limited-overs spinner in the country currently. If Rohit Sharma does add the left-arm wrist spinner into the XI, Axar Patel is likely to sit out, meaning a loss in batting depth.

In the batting department, Virat Kohli opened the innings with Rohit in the last match and Rishabh Pant came at number three. India is unlikely to change the batting.

For Pakistan, plenty depends on how Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan bat. It is unlikely the duo will be suddenly changing the approach, but Pakistan could add a bit more fire with the addition of Saim Ayub, in place of misfiring Azam Khan.

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The men in green will bank on the pacers - Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah - to do the bulk of work in the bowling department. If even two of them fire, Pakistan can put India on the backfoot early in the game.

India vs Pakistan probable playing XI

India - Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel/ Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj.

Pakistan - Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Usman Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan/ Saim Ayub, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Amir, Haris Rauf.