'Always pathetic': Team India's 'strange' decision vs Pakistan in Asia Cup match lambasted

The Indian cricket team starts its Asia Cup 2023 campaign at Pallekele International Stadium in Kandy against their arch-rivals Pakistan. They will look for a win against their neighbours. Pakistan won their first match in the multi-nation Asian competition in Multan by 238 runs. The Indian team's decision to pick Shardul Thakur over Mohammed Shami hasn't gone well with the fans.

3 things you need to know 

• Team  India landed in Sri Lanka on August 31, 2023
• India vs Pakistan is one of the biggest rivalries in cricket history 
• Mohammed Shami is excluded from the starting XI against Pakistan

Also Read: IND Vs PAK, Asia Cup 2023: Confirmed Playing XI, Last-minute Dream11 Tips, Toss Update

IND vs PAK: Mohammed Shami is excluded from the starting XI against Pakistan 

In preparation for Team India's much-anticipated match versus Pakistan at the Asia Cup 2023, Indian captain Rohit Sharma reveals some of his team's plans. India won the toss and elected to bat first at the Muttiah Muralitharan International Cricket Stadium, but without a seasoned seamer after deciding to leave Mohammed Shami off the roster in favour of Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah.

After recovering from their individual injuries, both Jasprit Bumrah and Shreyas Iyer are making a comeback to the squad. Their return is widely anticipated and will surely bolster the team. However, sadly, KL Rahul will be unavailable for the next two games as he is still in Bengaluru, recovering from an injury. This means that the team will need to make other arrangements for the wicketkeeping position.

“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” said Rohit Sharma during toss.

Confirmed XI of India vs Pakistan

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Gill, Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Kishan (c), Hardik Pandya, Jadeja, Shardul Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Siraj

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

IND vs PAK Fans fume about the absence of Mohammed Shami 

No Shami . It's strange 😳

— Mohammad Nawaj (@NawazJ78) September 2, 2023

Also Read: India Vs Pakistan LIVE Score, Asia Cup 2023 Latest Updates

The team selection is always pathetic. Shami could have added depth to the bowling. Shows the team lacks confidence in 6 batters. The experiment they should have done is to play without fluke Hardik.

— dyst-0-píá (@contacteduco) September 2, 2023

No Mohammed Shami!! 😰
Hope he is alright... Bumrah has just recovered, will it be too much load to carry for Thakur and Siraj in the seam bowling department ? 🤒

I wish not 🙏😖#INDvsPAK

— ವಿಕ್ರಮ್ ಪ್ರಭು | Vikram Prabhu (@TheLostIndian18) September 2, 2023

Mohammed Shami would have been a better option in place of Shardul Thakur.

India.. India 🇮🇳#PAKvIND#AsiaCup23

— Mohammed Abdullah 🇮🇳⚡ (@abbu_SI) September 2, 2023

The match is underway and captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill have opened the batting for India. Fans seemed to be unhappy from the exclusion of the star bowler from the squad but hoped that the decision would turn out to be in favour of Team India.