Asia Cup 2023: Shreyas Iyer returns to India XI vs Pakistan, Rohit Sharma decides to bat

India captain Rohit Sharma made the right call at the toss and put India in to bat against Pakistan in the Asia Cup on Saturday. The high octane clash had concerns over toss being delayed due to inclement weather but drizzle stayed away and covers were removed for toss to take place on time.

Asia Cup LIVE: India vs Pakistan

Shreyas Iyer is back into the India playing XI after a lengthy absence due to injury. He had a back issue that flared up during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier in the year and needed surgery. This is going to be his first international outing since March.

“I never imagined I’ll be playing Asia Cup. The recovery was slow and steady. I passed the fitness test one week before selection, and I was really happy with that. I was nervous last night, couldn’t sleep,” said Iyer before the match.

“The spirits are high in the dressing room and we are looking forward to this game. Delighted to be playing against these (Afridi, Rauf, Naseem) bowlers, plan is just to watch the ball and play according to the situation,” added the 28-year-old.

Also named in the India playing XI are Shardul Thakur alongside Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj to make up the seam bowling department. Meanwhile, the spin bowling duties have been handed over to Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav.

In the absence of KL Rahul, still recovering from a thigh injury, Ishan Kishan will don the wicketkeeping gloves.

Pakistan had announced a day prior that they will go unchanged from the side that beat Nepal in the tournament opener. The Babar Azam-led side had registered a thumping 238-run win over the minnows.

At the toss, Rohit Sharma said, “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.”

Babar Azam acknowledged they would have batted first too. “We have played a lot of cricket here, so we know the conditions. Top teams are playing so Asia Cup is good. We’ll try to do our best.”

“Performing well always gives you confidence, we’ll try to capitalise. It’s a high intensity match, we’ll try to be calm and composed.”

The pitch report suggested there was more grass which would aid both seamers and spinners while being good for a quality batter. Ravi Shastri reckons a score of 260-270 would be challenging.

India playing XI: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan(w), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

Pakistan playing XI: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf