Sanjay Manjrekar, the former Indian cricketer, has named his ideal lineup for India’s opening battle against old rivals Pakistan in the upcoming Asia Cup 2023. The much-anticipated match is slated to take place on September 2nd at the scenic Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy, Sri Lanka.
With less than ten days left for the high-voltage clash, the former Indian cricketer turned commentator, Sanjay Manjrekar, has presented his selected eleven who might square off against Pakistan.
Manjrekar, in his line-up, has picked a trio of dedicated fast bowlers – Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Mohammed Shami, with Hardik Pandya as his fourth viable choice. Adding to him, KL Rahul, making a comeback post his injury in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL), finds his place assured in Manjrekar’s selection for India’s team.
When it comes to the opening partnership, Manjrekar’s preference lies with captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill to take the lead for Team India’s batting attack.
“My three seamers would be Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami. Hardik Pandya would be my fourth seamer. My spinners would be Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav. My opener would be Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma. No. 3 batter would be Virat Kohli. KL Rahul would play because he is the keeper,” Sanjay Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo.
Talking about the middle-order options, Manjrekar brought out the likely inclusion of either Shreyas Iyer or Tilak Varma in the team for the highly anticipated Asia Cup 2023 encounter. However, he also stressed that given the plethora of right-handed batsmen in the team, the strategists should consider installing a left-handed hitter like Tilak to add variety to the middle order.
It’s interesting to note that Tilak gained his first-ever call-up to the ODI squad for the Asia Cup 2023 following his strong performances in the IPL 2023 and the T20I series against the West Indies. The youthful left-handed batsman has competed in seven T20Is, managing to collect 174 runs with an amazing average of 34.80. Notably, his extraordinary IPL adventure comprised collecting 343 runs in 11 matches, maintaining a fantastic average of 42.88.
“Either Shreyas Iyer or Tilak Varma could play [in the middle-order]. I am saying this because in India’s first-choice side XI, the first seven (six) batters, including Hardik Pandya, are all right-handers. Somewhere, India will have to fit in a left-hander in Tilak Varma. This is a problem India has,” Manjrekar further added.
Sanjay Manjrekar’s India XI vs Pakistan: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer/ Tilak Varma, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj
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