Monitoring Desk
KARACHI: As the world braces for the most anticipated cricket match, Pakistan versus India tomorrow (Saturday), the national side has announced the playing XI for the second Asia Cup 2023 clash, slated to begin at the Pakelle Cricket Stadium in Kandy, Sri Lanka.
Pakistan will enter the field against India with the same squad as the one that played against Nepal in the first Asia Cup match on Wednesday in Multan resulting in a thumping victory for the home side.
The national squad reached Kandy on Thursday after the first clash. Addressing a press conference there, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam on Friday said that the Men in Green have a home advantage against India in Sri Lanka as they have recently played a lot of cricket in the country.
It may be noted that Pakistan have enough familiarity with the conditions in Sri Lanka as almost all the cricket they have played in the last more than two months has been in the island country. They played a Test series against the host team in Sri Lanka, then they played an ODI series against Afghanistan, while some players also participated in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) there.
“There is no pressure on us; instead, we have the [winning] momentum and we will try to maintain this momentum,” Babar said.
He said that all the players in the squad are pumped up as everyone knows that the Pakistan-India match is a great match. “Everyone in the world waits for this match and we are hopeful that it will be a good match,” he added.
The skipper further stated that they will try to keep the best playing XI and perform well in the matches of continental cricketing event. Babar also said that sometimes the performances vary but the team has been doing well for a while.
“We were in a bit of trouble regarding the middle order but the middle order has a good response now,” he said. The world will be witnessing a guaranteed blockbuster clash between the arch-rivals Pakistan and India, with a huge number of spectators arriving in the host city Kandy to watch the match.
Lineup
Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan (vc), Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah.
