‘Jaan bujh ke harna chahte hai ye’ – Fans react to omission of Mohammed Shami from India’s playing XI against Pakistan in Asia Cup 2023 

Team India kicked off their 2023 Asia Cup campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan at the Pallekale International Cricket Stadium on Saturday, September 2. India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat first. However, as expected, rain interrupted play during the fifth over, forcing the players and umpires to return to the dugout.

While Pakistan have already announced that they will be retaining the side that thrashed Nepal by 238 runs in the tournament opener, India waited until the toss to unveil the team list. A number of changes were expected in Indi’s line-up since their last ODI match against West Indies. However, when the playing XI was revealed, fans were surprised to see the omission of one of the veteran pacers.

The Men in Blue dropped Mohammad Shami and instead went with Shardul Thakur to add batting depth. Thakur will join the pace attack that consists of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. Meanwhile, in the spin department, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja were selected. It remains to be seen whether Ishan Kishan, who replaced KL Rahul, will come at No. 3 or Virat Kohli will only bat in that position.

Speaking at the toss, captain Rohit said: “We are going to bat first. 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. Iyer is back, Bumrah is back and we got three seamers. Got two spinners – Kuldeep and Jadeja.”

Playing XIs of India and Pakistan 

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

Here’s how fans reacted to Mohammed Shami’s exclusion from India’s playing XI against Pakistan in Asia Cup 2023: