India vs Pakistan, Asia Cup 2023: Shreyas Iyer Returns, No Mohammed Shami! India’s Playing XI Against Pakistan

Shreyas Iyer made a comeback into the Indian cricket team and three fast bowlers were included in the Rohit Sharma-led team’s playing XI against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2023 match on Saturday. The Indian cricket team went with Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj as their pace options as Mohammed Shami missed out. In the spin department, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja were selected. Questions still remain over whether Ishan Kishan or Shreyas Iyer will bat at No. 4 or the team management will look at Virat Kohli. (India vs Pakistan, Live Updates)

“We are going to bat first. There is a bit of weather around, but can’t think much about it. Got to play good cricket, you need to embrace the challenge, embrace the situation. We had some time off after the West Indies series. Everyone was up for those drills and challenges in Bangalore. Let’s see what we can achieve in this tournament. It’s a quality tournament with quality oppositions. At the end of the day we need to see what we can achieve as a team. Iyer is back, Bumrah is back and we got three seamers,” Rohit Sharma said at the toss.

The Indian cricket team will be aiming to start their campaign with a positive result while Pakistan won their opening match against Nepal comprehensively. This is a much-anticipated encounter for cricket fans as these two teams have not played a bilateral series in nearly a decade. As a result, the only chance to witness this on-field rivalry is at continental or International Cricket Council (ICC) events.

Pakistan went with an unchanged playing XI for their match against Nepal.

India’s playing XI against Pakistan in Asia Cup 2023: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan(w), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.