Cricket World Cup 2023: Pakistan's Predicted XI vs India- Will Babar Azam And Co Tinker With Winning Combination?

The Pakistan cricket team will take on arch-rivals India in the 12th match of ICC World Cup 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday, October 14. Babar Azam and co. are coming into this encounter on the back of consecutive victories and so are India. But only one team will emerge victorious in this contest. The two arch-rivals locked horns in the Asia Cup Super 4 match recently and Pakistan lost that match by a huge margin of 228 runs. They got outplayed in all departments and that's why they will be eager to come up with a much better performance this time.

Here, we shall take a look at the predicted Pakistan playing XI for this crucial ODI clash against the Indian cricket team.

Openers: Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq

Abdullah Shafique walked into the Pakistan lineup in the previous match and made an instant impact. The right-hander played a fabulous innings of 113 and will be eager to carry that form forward into the India vs Pakistan encounter. Imam-ul-Haq, on the other hand, has encountered failures in both games so far with scores of 15 and 12 to his name. The southpaw needs to step up in this highly important fixture.

Middle-order: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel

Babar Azam, the Pakistan cricket team captain, has struggled to get going. He has registered scores of 5 and 10 in the two games so far and he will be eager to make things work in this high-stakes clash. Mohammad Rizwan, on the other hand, has performed well in both games so far. He followed up his 68 against the Netherlands with another superb knock of 131* against Sri Lanka.

The left-handed Saud Shakeel has also justified his position in the Pakistani side. He was adjudged the Player of the Match against the Netherlands