Asia Cup 2023: Rohit opts to bowl against Bangladesh

India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bowl first in their Super Four clash against Bangladesh at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Having already cemented their spot in the final, India have made five changes from their 41-run win against Sri Lanka.

India have decided to rest Virat Kohli, vice-captain Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj. Tilak Varma is making is ODI debut and he has received his cap from Rohit Sharma. Suryakumar Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna also made it to the playing XI. Both Varma and Prasidh are not part of the World Cup squad; perhaps India feel it’s a good idea to get them some match practice in case a spot in the squad opens up through injury. For Bangladesh, Tanzim Shakib is making his ODI debut.

Since this game won’t affect the trophy race, and the Indian team will have only one day of rest before the finals, it’s likely that the Indian team management will opt to rest some key players.

The head coach of the Tigers, Chandika Hathurusingha, had previously announced that there would be no team practice during a three-day break from September 10 to the 13. Two key Bangladeshi players, Shakib Al Hasan, and Mushfiqur Rahim, have temporarily left the squad to attend to family matters in Dhaka. While Shakib will join the squad, Mushfiqur Rahim will be absent from the Asia Cup Super Four match against India on Friday. Bangladesh Cricket Board has granted him an extension of leave to be with his newborn child and family.

Bangladesh’s performance in the Super Four stage has fallen short of the high expectations of their fans. Unfortunately, they have been eliminated from the tournament. The dreams of achieving their first continental championship have diminished for skipper Shakib Al Hassan’s team, especially after suffering losses in their first two Super Four matches.

Their big 89-run victory over Afghanistan in the group stage, which secured their place in the Super Four, stands as their sole triumph in this tournament. The Tigers are now hoping for a positive result in their final Super Four match before they prepare to host New Zealand in a three-match ODI series starting on September 21. In the other two Super Four matches, Sri Lanka won over Bangladesh by 21 runs, and Pakistan won by 7 wickets.

Bangladesh (Playing XI): Litton Das(w), Tanzid Hasan, Anamul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan(c), Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mustafizur Rahman

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Prasidh Krishna