Team India will like to finish their Asia Cup 2022 campaign with a win vs Afghanistan on Thursday night at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The Rohit Sharma-led side were knocked out of the tournament with Pakistan beating Afghanistan last night in Sharjah. With that win, Pakistan booked their place in the final where they will meet Sri Lanka on September 11. India, who are defending champions, will play their last match of Asia Cup vs Afghans on Thursday in hope that they are able to fix some long persisting issues in the team.
Coming to the playing 11 for Afghanistan match, India could make some big changes and one of them could be dropping Rishabh Pant from the side. Former Indian batter Robin Uthappa feels the same. "I think Dinesh Karthik will be playing today's game as a finisher. He and Hardik Pandya will be the finishers at No. 6 and 7. I feel Rishabh Pant might be dropped and Deepak Hooda will bat at No. 5," Uthappa told ESPNcricinfo.
The Chennai Super Kings batter also feels that Deepak Chahar will be back in the playing 11 for India. "In bowling, I think Deepak Chahar will play because India will try a few experiments because this is their only opportunity. He is coming from a break and had a good outing against Zimbabwe, so he deserves an opportunity," said Uthappa.
Not to forget, Chahar made a comeback after a six-month layoff due to injury in the ODI series vs Zimbabwe. He also bowled well but selectors decided not to rush him so early into a high-pressure situation and kept him out of the Asia Cup squad. However, Chahar was travelling with Asia Cup squad as the backup bowler. With Avesh Khan getting ruled out, he was roped in as the third pacer in the team.
It will be interesting to see who he replaces in the playing 11 today if he plays. Whether Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be dropped or Arshdeep Singh or he will replace spinner.
