India To Bat First Again vs Pakistan; KL Rahul Replaces Injured Shreyas Iyer

Babar Azam won the toss and opted to field first (AP Photos)

Round 2 of the India versus Pakistan rivalry in the Asia Cup 2023 is about to get underway at R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday (September 10). The first round was disappointing for all fans since relentless rain prevented a result. What will happen in the next round? We will soon find out.

In the first round, Rohit Sharma-led India won the toss and opted to bat. This time around, Babar Azam won the first mini battle, although the result remained the same. Under the clear sky in Colombo, Rohit Sharma & his boys will bat first against the deadly Pakistan pace trio -- Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf.

The biggest news from the middle was the unavailability of Shreyas Iyer, who had a back spasm. KL Rahul has returned to the mix, so is Jasprit Bumrah, who missed out on the last time due to the birth of his first child. Bumrah will replace Mohammed Shami, who had an excellent outing against Nepal in their previous encounter.

Pakistan, on the other hand, revealed their lineup earlier. The Men in Green kept the playing XI unchanged which enjoyed a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh before coming to this fixture.

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Captains' thoughts before the IND vs PAK clash

Babar Azam

“We will bowl first. I think there is a bit of moisture, we need to use that. Always, India Pakistan is high intensity, but we will take it match to match. As a team, we are playing well, we are focused on this one. No changes.”

Rohit Sharma

"Looking to bat first. There will be a challenge upfront, but the way we 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. Two changes - Bumrah is back, and one forced change, Shreyas Iyer just got a back spasm, so KL Rahul comes in for him."

IND vs PAK Playing XIs

India Playing XI vs Pakistan

Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan(wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

Pakistan Playing XI vs India

Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Iftikhar Ahmed, Agha Salman, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf

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