R Ashwin not playing: India will take the field with a total of three fast bowlers in a high-profile clash against Pakistan tonight.
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During the 16th match of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2021 between India and Pakistan in Dubai, Pakistan captain Babar Azam has won the toss and chose to field.
“We are going to bowl first. We’ll look to take early wickets and put pressure. Dew is also a factor. We have had good practice sessions and am confident about our preparations. Pakistan’s bowlers are known to trouble other teams but I am confident about our batting too,” Azam said at the toss.
Pakistan, who had shortlisted a 12-member squad on the eve of the match, have left out batter Haider Ali including the senior pair of Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik.
Why is R Ashwin not playing vs Pakistan?
India captain Virat Kohli was “pretty happy” with being asked to bat first but mentioned that they too were looking to bowl first at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium tonight.
“We are pretty happy with setting the target. We would have bowled first too, but the toss is not in your control. We are pretty balanced with our squad and you need to be prepared for it. Everyone watches it closely all over the world. We can use that as a motivation, but we need to ensure we don’t get too emotional and need to just stay professional,” Kohli said at the toss.
Being asked about the pitch, Kohli pointed out how there is a lack of grass on the surface as compared to what it was during Indian Premier League 2021.
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“The pitch looks very different. Evenly rolled and there is no grass at all which was the case during the IPL, and I’m sure that was done to hold it together well for the World Cup. We expect the pitch to stay good all through and set a good total,” Kohli added.
As far as India’s Playing XI is concerned, Kohli confirmed that wicket-keeper batter Ishan Kishan, fast bowler Shardul Thakur and spin-bowling duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Rahul Chahar have been benched for this match without providing any rationale behind the same.
The development means that India will take the field with as many as three fast bowlers namely Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami. In addition to this trio, India will have a couple of spin-bowling options in Ravindra Jadeja and Varun Chakravarthy.
