India's Likely XI vs Pakistan: Rohit Sharma To Make One Surprise Change?

After a comprehensive victory against Bangladesh in their Champions Trophy opener, the Indian cricket team takes on arch-rivals Pakistan in their second Group B match on Sunday. Shubman Gill was the star of the match for India, scoring a brilliant hundred to set expectations clear right from the start. Though India ticked most boxes in their tournament opener, one change can be expected to be made as Rohit Sharma's men take on Mohammad Rizwan's side in their second match, especially keeping the opponent team's composition in mind. 

Openers: The pairing of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill is certain, with no changes expected in at the top of the batting order. The duo put in 69 runs for the first wicket against Bangladesh, with Rohit giving the team a flying start.

Middle-Order: Virat Kohli, despite his patch form of late, is likely to retain the No. 3 spot in the batting order. He reportedly put 3 hours of extra work in the nets ahead of the Pakistan clash, especially tuning his batting against spinners. Kohli's form would be key for India's hopes against Rizwan's army. Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul are likely to accompany him at No. 4 and No. 5 spot respectively. 

All-Rounders: Under head coach Gautam Gambhir, the number of all-rounders in the Indian team has significantly increased. The likes of Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, and Hardik Pandya give the team an incredible balance while Harshit Rana can also prove to be handy with the bat.

Spinners: Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, and Ravindra Jadeja were India's spinners against Bangladesh but Varun Chakravarthy could be brought in, as a replacement for Kuldeep against Pakistan, if skipper Rohit and coach Gambhir think of making a change. This is the only change India are likely to make.

Pacers: Considering how Harshit Rana and Mohammed Shami fared for India against Bangladesh, none of them is expected to be benched for Arshdeep Singh in the playing XI against Pakistan.

India's likely playing XI vs Pakistan: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav/Varun Chakravarthy, Mohammed Shami and Harshit Rana.