India opt to field against Pakistan in Asia Cup encounter

Former Indian skipper Virat Kohli with Pakistan batters Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan, during ICC T20 World Cup in October 2021 (AP file photo)

India won the toss and opted to field against Pakistan in their Asia Cup opener here on Sunday.

Virat Kohli will be playing his 100th T20 International and is second player in world cricket after Ross Taylor to complete a century of international appearances.

Dinesh Karthik was picked ahead of Rishabh Pant in the playing eleven while Avesh Khan was picked as third pacer alongside Arshdeep Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Pakistan pacer Naseem Shah will be making his T20I debut.

Also Read | Asia Cup 2022: India vs Pakistan: It's more than just a cricket match

Teams: India: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh.

Pakistan: Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Shahnawaz Dahani.