Asia Cup 2022: 3 changes India might make to their playing XI despite beating Pakistan
The high-profile clash between India and Pakistan went right down to the wire and it was the Men in Blue who prevailed. Chasing the target of 148, the Rohit-led side won the game by five wickets in the last over thriller. Hardik Pandya was the Man of the Match for his all-around performance.
Despite the win, there can be a case for team management to tinker with the playing XI going into the next game. India will play their next game against Hong Kong on Wednesday (August 31). Let us take a look at the changes India can make to their playing XI.
1) Rishabh Pant in for Dinesh Karthik
The veteran wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik was selected over Rishabh Pant in the game against Pakistan. Skipper Rohit Sharma also mentioned at the toss that it was a tough call to make. As a result, India till number seven had only a single left-handed batsman in their batting line-up. Ravindra Jadeja had to bat out of place to tackle Pakistan’s spinners.
Therefore, India can slot in Pant for Karthik. Jadeja and Hardik have shown their finishing prowess in the limited overs circuit. So, Pant’s inclusion will give India the much-needed flexibility in the middle overs as they can make use of Pant to exploit a favourable match-up. Furthermore, they will have another left-hander in Jadeja at the lower down the order and so India can have left hand-right hand batting combination in the middle overs.
