India Vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2023 Predicted Playing 11: Shreyas Iyer, Jasprit Bumrah Return To ODI Team, Pakistan Name Unchanged Line-Up

With the exception of injured KL Rahul, Team India will play archrivals Pakistan in the third match of the Asia Cup 2023 on Saturday at Pallekele International Stadium in Kandy. This is the first ODI encounter between the neighbours in over four years.

Rohit Sharma's team will be very different from the one that played the third and final ODI against the West Indies a few months ago.

Both skipper Rohit Sharma and former captain Virat Kohli will return to the playing 11 on the eve of important ODI milestones. Rohit Sharma is on the verge of reaching 10,000 ODI runs, while Kohli needs 102 more to get 13,000 ODI runs.

Aside from these two, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Shreyas Iyer has recovered from injury and is ready to play international cricket again after being injured in a Test match against Australia in Ahmedabad in March of this year. In the run-up to the Cricket World Cup 2023, Iyer is likely to fill the number four spot in the ODI squad.

In the absence of KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant, wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan, who started the innings in the Caribbean and won the 'Player of the Series' award for getting three consecutive fifties in ODIs versus West Indies, will bat in the middle-order at No. 5.

In the bowling department, Jasprit Bumrah will return to ODIs after an almost 11-month absence from international cricket. Bumrah bowled brilliantly as India won a 2-0 T20I series against Ireland last month.

The third seamer position will be contested by all-rounder Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Shami, with Mohammed Siraj slated to partner Bumrah with the new ball. Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Siraj will bowl spin, while all-rounder Hardik Pandya will be India's sixth bowler.

Pakistan, on the other hand, has picked the same playing 11 that defeated Nepal by 238 runs in the Asia Cup 2023 opener in Multan on Wednesday. Skipper Babar Azam will enjoy the services of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf, though Afridi's fitness was questioned following the first game.

India Vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2023 Predicted Playing 11

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

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