IND vs PAK: India named a couple of changes to their Playing XI for the high-octane clash against Pakistan in the Asia Cup Super Four stage. KL Rahul has made his much-awaited return to the Indian team, while Jasprit Bumrah is also back in the side that takes on the Babar Azam-led Pakistan at R Premadasa Stadium on Sunday. The Indian team kickstarted its campaign in the Super Four of the continental event. Notably, Shreyas Iyer and Mohammed Shami are the players to have missed out on being part of this clash.
India captain Rohit Sharma revealed the reason behind Iyer's exclusion from the team. Sharma lost the toss and India were asked to bat first at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Pakistan announced their playing XI a day before the contest but India named the team at the toss.
Why is Iyer not playing?
India captain Rohit Sharma stated that the team has made a forced change of dropping Shreyas Iyer out as he has suffered a back spasm. "Two changes - Bumrah is back and one forced change, Shreyas Iyer just got a back spasm so KL Rahul comes in for him," Sharma said at the toss.
India were asked to bat first after Babar Azam won the toss and opted to field first. Meanwhile, Sharma stated that he was also looking to bat first. "Looking to bat first. There will be a challenge upfront, but the way we guys batted last time around gives us confidence. Every game is important for us, but one thing at a time to focus on. (On rain delays) That's the nature of the sport, it gave us a good time to prepare and now we'll look to play well," Sharma added on the toss.
India's Playing XI:
Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Pakistan's Playing XI:
Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf
