Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar selected his team of players who might participate in India opening Asia Cup 2023 match against arch-rival Pakistan. Notably, the match will take place at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy, Sri Lanka, between the Men in Blue and the Babar Azam-led team. The cricketer-turned-commentator Manjrekar offered his starting XI that might face Pakistan with fewer than 10 days until the high-stakes match.
The former cricketer chose Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Mohammed Shami as his first three expert pacers, with Hardik Pandya as his fourth choice. In addition, Manjrekar’s India XI includes KL Rahul, who rejoins the lineup after suffering an injury in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. Manjrekar picked team India’s captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill as the opening pair to get things going.
“Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Mohammed Shami would be my three seamen. I’d have Hardik Pandya as my fourth seamer. (Ravindra) Jadeja and Kuldeep (Yadav) would be my spinners. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill would be my picks for the opener. Virat Kohli would be the third batter. Being the goalie, KL Rahul would play, according to Manjrekar, according to ESPN cricinfo.
India will need to make room for Tilak Varma, a left-hander, somewhere: Sanjay Manjrekar
Tilak Varma or Shreyas Iyer might both bat in the middle order. I say this because the first seven (six) hitters in India’s starting XI, including Hardik Pandya, are all right-handers. Tilak Varma is a left-hander who India will have to make room for somewhere. India has a problem with this, Manjrekar continued.
Notably, Tilak’s strong performances in the IPL 2023 and the T20I series against the West Indies helped him earn his first ODI call-up. The youthful left-hander has participated in seven T20 Internationals and scored 174 runs at an average of 34.80. Additionally, during his outstanding IPL season, he amassed 343 runs in 11 matches for a respectable average of 42.88.
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer/Tilak Varma, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Mohammed Siraj make up Sanjay Manjrekar’s India XI against Pakistan.
India
