As per India’s playing XI against Pakistan Shreyas Iyer is slotted at number five. Virat Kohli is set to bat number four. Ishan Kishan is set to bat number three. Before Asia Cup, skipper Rohit Sharma stated that no player is stated to bat at the slated position. With no KL Rahul in the team, Ishan Kishan is set to keep wickets. Kishan is predominately opener, but since Gill has cemented his place as an opener, Kishan is set to bat at number three.
“Shreyas is fit and good to go. He has passed the fitness test. Regarding KL, a decision will be made closer to the match day. He has done well in the practice sessions. But he is not yet 100%. We have a few days before the game. We hope he will be fit but Ishan is there as a backup if he is not fit,” a BCCI official told InsideSport.
Before the India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2023 game, the India Cricket Team is in a 6-day camp in Alur, Bengaluru. However, all eyes were on KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, who made it to the squad even before passing the fitness test.
Shreyas Iyer & KL Rahul in India vs Pakistan clash?
Shreyas Iyer: After undergoing back surgery in London, Shreyas Iyer began rehab in June. With just three months left for the Asia Cup 2023, things did not look good. However, Shreyas made good progress and slammed 199 in a practice match arranged by the National Cricket Academy. In the Asia Cup camp, he passed the yo-yo test with flying colours.
KL Rahul: The biggest worry has been regarding KL Rahul. The designated wicketkeeper-batter had a setback in recovering from thigh surgery. Rahul made it to the squad with the hope that he would be fit in time for the India vs Pakistan clash. While all players had fitness tests, KL Rahul was exempted from the mandatory yo-yo test. But the good news is that Rahul has been batting and keeping. However, he is advised against sprinting. It could take a few more days before he is fit. Hence, whether he makes it to the Playing XI is a call to be made on September 1 after the final practice in Kandy.
India Asia Cup Camp Highlights:
- Day 1 began with Yo-yo test for some of the star players including Virat Kohli.
- Indian stars batted in pairs as per batting order for 6 hours on Day 1 of Asia Cup 2023 camp.
- Rohit Sharma & Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli & Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya & Ravindra Jadeja batted for 1 hour each.
- KL Rahul who is still doubtful with injury also batted for 2 hours keeping India vs Pakistan in mind.
- India called in left-arm spinners including Sai Kishore, and Kuldeep Yadav apart from 10 net bowlers to bowl ay Virat Kohli & Co.
- On Day 2, Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma apart from Hardik Pandya appeared for the yo-yo test. Gill topped the test with an 18.7 score.
- India batters also had a practice session against express pace to prepare for Shaheen Afridi.
- Umran Malik and Yash Dayal were both part of the bowlers to bowl at the nets.
- Aniket Choudhary, a tall left-arm bowler, was asked to bowl at Rohit Sharma & Co at the nets.
- KL Rahul also had a keeping session. He did show slight discomfort as he is still recovering from a thigh injury.
- KL Rahul will undergo a fitness test in Kandy ahead of India vs Pakistan clash on Sep 2.
India Squad for Asia Cup 2023
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
