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

India will be locking horns with arch-rivals Pakistan in the second match of Asia Cup 2022 at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, August 28. The Men in Blue would be eager to avenge last year’s T20 World Cup loss at the very same venue where they had gone down by 10 wickets. However, they would be playing this tournament without the availabilities of pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel, who have been ruled out due to injuries.

Meanwhile, the Indian team would be oozing with confidence heading into this encounter as they have won all the home and away bilateral T20I series this year, and more importantly, the team management has also experimented with various team combinations in the last few months which have turned to be fruitful. The Indians have an upper hand as far as their overall performances throughout this year in the shortest format are concerned, while Pakistan only played a solitary T20I this year, against Australia at home in April, which they lost by three wickets.

Without further adieu, here’s a look at India’s predicted XI for their opening encounter against Pakistan

Openers- Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul

Rohit Sharma has blown hot and cold this year in the shortest format. While the ‘Hitman’ has managed to get off to good starts in some games, he has failed to capitalize. Nonetheless, one needs to be aware of the kind of batter he is in the shortest format and is just one innings away from regaining his touch. The India skipper (3487) only needs 11 more runs to surpass New Zealand batter Martin Guptill (3497) for becoming the highest run-getter in T20Is.

KL Rahul, on the other hand, returned in action during the away ODI series against Zimbabwe after a groin injury that had ruled him out for more than a couple of months, for which he also underwent successful surgery in Germany. Nonetheless, he failed miserably with the bat and could not showcase impressive performances on that tour. However, the Karnataka cricketer had a dream run in IPL 2022, where he amassed 616 runs from 15 matches, including two centuries.