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In a highly-anticipated Asia Cup 2023 clash, India and Pakistan will be up against each other in a riveting showdown where the cricketing world will witness the iconic cricket rivalry. It will be a contest to watch when Rohit Sharma-led Team India's star studded batting unit will lock horns with Pakistan's pace batter at the Pallekele stadium in Sri Lanka on Saturday, September 2.
On the eve of the mother of all clashes, India skipper Rohit in a press conference was asked about Men in Blue's plans to tackling Pakistan's lethal pace attack which boast of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah. Rohit replied," Obviously we don’t have Shaheen, Haris and Naseem in the nets (laughs) so we can’t play them. We have to play the bowlers we have in the nets. We will use our experience to counter these bowlers.”
However, there is a looming threat of rain in the hilly Kandy region, which could dampen the spectacle. India's team is still fine-tuning its combination, particularly in the absence of KL Rahul. The 'holy trinity' of Virat Kohli, Sharma, and the rising star Shubman Gill is expected to face a tough challenge from Pakistan's pace battery comprising Shaheen, Rauf, and the fiery Naseem Shah.
Both teams have had different exposures to ODI cricket recently. Since the 2019 World Cup, Pakistan has played only 29 ODIs compared to India's 57. Pakistan's middle-order batsmen like Usama Mir and Saud Shakeel have shown sporadic brilliance but lack consistency, often leaving it to the lower order to provide the finishing touches.
Speaking on Babar Azam's brigade Rohit said that Pakistan is a very good team which is ehy they are World no.1 in ODIs.
“Pak is a very good team. They’ve done very good the last few years. That’s why they are no.1 in the world in ODIs. It will be a good challenge for us to play well. We have done our preps too,” Rohit added.
India's squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumraj, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Sanju Samson (travelling reserve).
Pakistan's squad: Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Haris, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir (travelling reserve).
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
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Asia Cup 2023: Hayden advises Rohit to exercise caution against Shaheen Afridi in India vs Pakistan slugfest
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