T20 World Cup 2022: Chahal in, Ashwin out? Predicting India's playing XI vs Zimbabwe

Thanks to the Netherlands' unexpected victory against South Africa earlier on Sunday, India have advanced to the semi-finals of the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022. India are slated to play against Zimbabwe in their final group-stage match later in the day and they can now afford to take the game a bit more lightly and experiment with combinations. The Rohit Sharma-led side might ring in some changes given that they are already through to the semis of the tournament. 

India's predicted playing XI vs Zimbabwe

Ravichandran Ashwin's lackluster performance in the tournament may compel India to hunt for a replacement in their match against Zimbabwe. Yuzvendra Chahal might get a nod to feature in the playing XI for India's final Super 12 game on Sunday as he has not played a single match in the tournament thus far. It will also provide Ashwin with the much-needed rest ahead of the next stage of the competition, which is slated to begin on November 9. 

India's predicted playing XI: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh. 

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe are expected to field the same playing XI in their final match of the tournament as they would want some of their players to get an opportunity to play the giants of India. 

"With the win against Pakistan, it's given us a huge amount of belief that we can beat any side in the tournament. I don't think that will change going into tomorrow's game. How often do you get the opportunity to put Virat Kohli in your pocket? I'm pretty sure that our fast bowlers will be raring to go come tomorrow," Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine said on Saturday.

Zimbabwe's predicted playing XI: Craig Ervine (c), Regis Chakabva (wk), Wesley Madhevere, Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Milton Shumba, Ryan Burl, Luke Jongwe, Richard Ngarava, Tendai Chatara, Blessing Muzarabani.

Pakistan are the second team from Group 2 to qualify for the semifinals of the ongoing T20 World Cup. Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by 5 wickets to book a spot in the semis. New Zealand and England are the teams from Group 1 who have made it to the semifinals of the competition. If India can manage to defeat Zimbabwe in today's clash, they will maintain their position on top of the Group 2 points table and will clash against England in the semis.  

Image: Twitter/BCCI