India Playing XI vs Pakistan – India vs Pakistan LIVE: India will kick start their T20 World Cup campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday but Virat Kohli will have a few huge decisions to make as far as the playing XI is concerned. India’s top 3 i.e Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul & Virat Kohli pick themselves in the XI but the question remains on who will be India’s choice for the No. 4 slot? Will it be in-form Ishan Kishan or very classy Suryakumar Yadav – Follow all T20 World Cup LIVE Updates on InsideSport.in
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India Playing XI vs Pakistan: Suryakumar Yadav or Ishan Kishan, who will be Virat Kohli’s pick as India’s No 4 for Pakistan clash?
India vs Pakistan LIVE – Who will be India’s No. 4? The No.4 slot is a position that needs fixing once again for India.
Up until IPL 2021 Phase 2, Suryakumar Yadav was one of the first names in India’s Playing XI but in the UAE during IPL 2021 he struggled with his form.
At the same time, Ishan Kishan has turned his fortunes around with three back to back half-centuries, forcing Virat Kohli to raise the question, who will bat at No 4 for India?
India Playing XI vs Pakistan – India vs Pakistan LIVE: Suryakumar or Ishan, who will Virat Kohli pick as India’s No 4 in Pakistan clash?
India Playing XI vs Pakistan – T20 World Cup: Who will Virat Kohli pick?
Suryakumar Yadav has gone through a wretched run of form past few months. Now Mumbai Indian star faces the risk of being axed from the playing XI. Pencilled as India’s No.4 for the T20 World Cup, Yadav’s form has nosedived over the last three months, for both India and Mumbai Indians.
In the warm-up games –
- vs England 8
- vs Australia 38* (27)
Ishan Kishan: Even though Ishan Kishan was considered as a backup opener, his dramatic return to form has put him in contention for No. 4 positions. He has been effective on good batting wickets and has hammered the balls cleanly. Against England in the warm-up match he hammered 70 off 46 to help India win the game by 7 wickets.
The 23-year-old was dropped from the Mumbai Indians side for three games but returned to the top of the order scoring back to back half-centuries. Kishan further made his case with a stellar knock against England and will be breathing down Suryakumar Yadav’s spot in the side.
The other factor that can work against Suryakumar Yadav is Virat Kohli. If the India captain wants to drop a place down and bat at No 4, Ishan Kishan could be slotted in at No 3 even though Kohli confirmed that he would bat at No 3.
India Playing XI vs Pakistan – T20 World Cup: Who will Virat Kohli pick as India’s No 4 in Pakistan clash?
- Suryakumar Yadav was nailed on as India’s designated No.4 heading into the T20 World Cup
- However, following a poor IPL and a lacklustre show in the warm-up game against England, that spot could be up for grabs.
- Ishan Kishan has turned around his form over the past months and could replace his Mumbai Indians teammate in the XI
- The left-hander opened the batting against England and scored a stellar half-century.
- Kishan’s runs have come at the top of the order, so Virat Kohli could perhaps move down to No.4 to accommodate Kishan in the top order, giving him the license to bat freely.
T20 World Cup – India vs Pakistan LIVE: As for other places, KL Rahul is all set to open with Rohit Sharma after yet another supreme batting show. He has previously batted in the middle order for Team India but Virat Kohli confirmed that the Punjab Kings captain will be opening the batting. However, with Kishan firing in all cylinders, Virat could perhaps make a bold step down to No. 4 to aid his team’s cause. The Indian captain has been a staple at 3 but could make way for the younger Kishan to bat more freely than at 4. Virat did not bat in the warm-up match against England but is likely to feature against Australia.
India Playing XI vs Pakistan: Who will Virat Kohli pick as India’s No 4 in Pakistan clash?
Other concerns for India include the form and fitness of Hardik Pandya. Pandya as per Rohit Sharma ‘still sometime away from starting to bowl’. Concerns are also being raised about Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s form though he bowled tight 4 overs against Australia (1/27 of 4 overs) in the 2nd warm-up match.
“I don’t think Hardik is going to bowl in the first few games looking at the way Virat Kohli has used only five bowlers. Yes, I’m worried about Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He looks in the kind of form which he had in the IPL, where he took just six wickets, but yeah, he looked out of rhythm, almost as if didn’t practice. Shardul Thakur should be in XI for the Pakistan match,” Parthiv Patel said.
India Playing XI vs Pakistan: Potential Playing XI: 1) Rohit Sharma, 2) KL Rahul, 3) Virat Kohli, 4) Ishan Kishan, 5) Rishabh Pant, 6) Hardik Pandya, 7) Ravindra Jadeja, 8) Shardul Thakur / Bhuvneshwar Kumar 9) Varun Chakravarthy / R.Ashwin 10) Mohammed Shami, 11) Jasprit Bumrah.
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