The high-octane cricket battle between India and Pakistan began with a mini choice controversy, with Dinesh Karthik edging Rishabh Pant within the Indian enjoying eleven. Choosing 37-year-old Karthik forward of Pant, 13 years his junior and Indian cricket’s poster boy, ostensibly got here from a thought course of that the veteran ‘keeper-batsman has been the team management’s most popular alternative as a finisher.
Additionally, going forward, this may very well be the group mixture with a watch to the T20 World Cup, a few months down the road. Pant is just not a finisher in white-ball cricket, he’s a middle-order enforcer, a job that has been bestowed upon Suryakumar Yadav on this Asia Cup fixture. Leaving out Pant absolutely wasn’t a straightforward alternative, and it didn’t go down effectively with Gautam Gambhir.
“Now is the time when experiments stop and a settled combination should emerge, as India don’t have many more games to play before the World Cup. I think, the Rishabh Pant bit, they got it wrong and he should have played. Also, his inclusion would have meant a left-hander in the middle-order amid a host of right-handers,” the previous India opener informed the host broadcaster. His erstwhile Kolkata Knight Riders colleague and Pakistan legend Wasim Akram concurred.
India additionally included quick bowlers Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh to complement skilled seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar as paceman Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel had been each dominated out of the Asia Cup on account of accidents.
Pakistan has comfortable recollections on the Dubai Worldwide Stadium the place it routed India by 10 wickets in final yr’s T20 World Cup.
However Pakistan can be with out its key paceman Shaheen Shah Afridi, who’s nursing a knee damage and has been suggested to relaxation for 4-6 weeks.
Within the absence of Afridi, Pakistan gave a debut to quick bowler Naseem Shah and in addition most popular Shahnawaz Dahani over quick bowler Mohammad Hasnain within the beginning XI.
Pakistan and India are each in Group A, which additionally options Hong Kong. The highest two groups from each teams qualify for the Tremendous 4 stage.
