Asia Cup, IND vs PAK: Confident Pakistan name unchanged 11 for India game

Pakistan continued the trend of naming their playing 11 on the eve of the match day in the Asia Cup. They have named an unchanged 11 from their first Super4 clash to face India on Sunday, September 10

Keeping up with the trend, Pakistan once again announced their playing 11 on the eve of the match day in Asia Cup 2023. On Saturday, September 09, 2023, the PCB on its official website posted the photo of an unchanged 11 for their high-octane clash against arch-rivals India scheduled for Sunday, September 10 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka. 

Our playing XI for the #PAKvIND match #AsiaCup2023 pic.twitter.com/K25PXbLnYe

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) September 9, 2023

The team remained the same as the one which took on Bangladesh in Pakistan’s first Super4 clash on Wednesday, September 06, 2023, at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Faheem Ashraf has kept his place in the side and Mohammad Nawaz remained on the bench. 

Why could Nawaz not make it to the playing 11?

Nawaz, a left-arm orthodox spin bowler, favoured to do well against a heavily right-handed India batting line-up was not considered and medium-pace all-rounder Ashraf kept his place in the side.

Iftikhar Ahmed, who scored his maiden ODI century against Nepal and was used as a bowling option against Bangladesh, will most likely be utilised against Indian left-handers as well. 

 

Iftikhar bowls handy off-spin and has taken nine wickets in 17 ODIs. In List-A, the 33-year-old has picked up 49 wickets in 108 games, showing enough talent and depth to be employed for 4-5 overs in a match. 

Agha Salman can bowl off-spin and hence Faheem with his fast bowling was touted as better than Nawaz who turned out to be expensive against India in the last game. 

Pakistan's form in Asia Cup 2023

In Asia Cup 2023, Pakistan are yet to drop a match and have looked like the team to beat. They defeated Nepal in their first match of the tournament by 238 runs. In their second game, Pakistan were able to bowl out India for 266 while they beat Bangladesh by seven wickets in their first Super4 game. 

Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah, the Pakistani pace trio have been the deadliest bowling combination with the three of them picking up a total of 23 wickets among the 30 that have been taken by Pakistan in this tournament. 

Pakistan Playing 11 vs India for Asia Cup Super4 match 

Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf