
On the 15th of September, India will be playing their final Super Four match against Bangladesh. The match between the two sides will be an inconsequential face-off. India with wins over Sri Lanka and Pakistan has already qualified for the finals of the Asia Cup. Bangladesh, on the other hand, has already been eliminated from the race to the finals after defeats against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. In the below article, we will take a look at how India can rest their front-line player against Bangladesh.
India on the field for 3 consecutive days
India started this week by being on the field at R. Premadasa Stadium for three days in a row. India’s game against Pakistan started on Sunday, 10th September. The match between the arch-rivals went into the reserve day after rain interrupted the Indian batting innings after 24.1 overs. After defeating Pakistan by 228 runs on the reserve day, India was back on the field in less than 24 hours facing Sri Lanka. The match between India and Sri Lanka went down the wire after an impressive all-round performance from the 20-year-old, Dunith Wellalage almost got Sri Lanka over the line.
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Playing three days in a row could take a toll on the bodies of these cricketers, especially fast bowlers. With the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 being hardly three weeks away, the Indian team wouldn’t want any of their players to pull up a niggle.
India’s playing XI against Bangladesh
India could make as many as three changes from the team which played Bangladesh on 12th September. The batting order could be the same against Bangladesh. The only change which can happen is Shreyas Iyer coming back into the team. Iyer missed the two Super Four games against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. He missed the two games after suffering a back spasm. He was replaced by KL Rahul who scored a century against Pakistan and played a crucial knock of 39 runs against Sri Lanka. If Iyer is able to prove that he is fit to play against Bangladesh then Ishan Kishan could sit on the bench.
Hardik Pandya who is back to his best when it comes to his all-round abilities is another player who could be rested. The turning nature of the pitch against Sri Lanka enticed the Indian think-tank to go with Axar Patel over Shardul Thakur. A move which played out nicely for the Rohit Sharma-led side with Axar scoring 26 runs down the order. Pandya could be replaced by Shardul who sat out in the game against Bangladesh.
When it comes to the fast bowlers Mohammed Siraj has played every game in the Asia Cup while Jasprit Bumrah missed the match against Nepal for the birth of his first child.
Bumrah who is coming after a long injury break could be rested and replaced by Mohammed Shami.
India’s predicted playing XI against Bangladesh
Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (subject to fitness), KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj/Jasprit Bumrah