IND vs PAK: India’s Playing XI for Champions Trophy 2025 Match Against Pakistan

The ICC Champions Trophy tournament returned after eight years, the season opener is between the hosts, Pakistan and New Zealand in Karachi. New Zealand outplayed the defending champions by 60 runs.

India started their Champions Trophy 2025 journey with a strong win, beating Bangladesh by six wickets in their opening match at the Dubai International Stadium. Next, they face Pakistan in a highly anticipated clash on Sunday, February 23.

With this victory, Team India will be eager to keep their winning momentum going against their biggest rivals and take another step toward the semi-finals. The Indian team management is aiming to select the best playing XI against Pakistan and give their strongest performance.

India may not make any changes to their batting lineup for the match against Pakistan. In the bowling attack, the mystery spinner may come in place of Kuldeep Yadav, and the left-arm fast bowler Arshdeep Singh will replace Harshit Rana. 

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India's Predicted Playing XI

Rohit Sharma & Shubman Gill (Openers)

The star Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and vice-captain Shubman Gill will open for India. Rohit is known for his aggressive batting style having played 268 ODIs and scored 11,019 runs, including 32 centuries and 57 half-centuries with an average of 50. While Gill scored an amazing century against the Bangaladesh and remained unbeaten. He played in 50 ODIs and scored 2,576 runs with an amazing average of nearly 60, with seven centuries and 15 fifties, making them a strong opening pair.

Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul (Top Order)

Virat Kohli is still struggling with the left-arm spinners, he was dismissed five times by the left-arm spinner. Virat Kohli will play at the No. 3 spot, he has 13,985 runs in 298 ODIs, including 50 centuries and 72 fifties. He needs 15 runs to become the fastest batter to reach 14000 runs in ODIs.

Shreyas Iyer, the middle-order aggressive batter will play at No. 4. He has scored the most runs for India in that position. He played 65 ODIs and scored 2,539 runs with an impressive average of 47. The wicketkeeper batter KL Rahul has played 80 ODIs and scored 2,904 runs with an amazing average of 47.7. He finished the match in style by scoring six to secure the victory.

Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel (All-Rounders)

The star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is the highest wicket-taker (12) for India in the Champions Trophy. Hardik Pandya will be the key player for India in the lower middle order. Axar Patel has become an important all-rounder for India. He has played in 63 ODIs, scored 661 runs, and took 67 wickets. He just missed the hat-trick against Bangladesh.

Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, and Mohammed Shami (Bowlers)

The mestry spinner Varun Chakaravarthy can be a key player in the middle overs with his excellent spin bowling, especially on a spin-friendly wicket in Dubai. He played only 1 ODI match and took 1 wicket. He had an excellent series against England where took 15 wickets. The young and talented left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh can be a crucial asset for India against Pakistan. He missed out on the first ODI against Bangladesh. He played nine ODIs for India and managed to take 14 wickets with an average of 23.

The experienced seasoned fast bowler Mohammed Shami started the tournament with a five-wicket haul. He has played 104 ODIs for India and took 202 wickets. He can swing the ball both ways and can take wickets with new ball. Shami has taken a hat-trick in an ODI match against Afghanistan in the 2019 Cricket World Cup. 

India Predicted Playing XI Against Pakistan

Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy

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