India vs Hong Kong Asia Cup 2022 Predicted 11: Will Rishabh Pant make a comeback, IND experiment ahead of Super 4?

India vs Hong Kong Predicted Playing XI: Team India skipper Rohit Sharma stunned everyone at the toss of their last match against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2022 match in Dubai on Sunday (August 28). Rohit decided to opt for Dinesh Karthik as the finisher ahead of Rishabh Pant. But with their next game against minnows Hong Kong on Wednesday (August 31), will the Indian team management choose to experiment and bring back Pant into the Playing XI.

With no left-handed batter in the middle-order, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was promoted to No. 4 after Virat Kohli. Jadeja on Tuesday revealed that his promotion was a planned move.

Jadeja, who made a crucial 29-ball 35 in India’s win over arch-rivals Pakistan in the first game in the Asia Cup 2022 on Sunday, came out to bat after the wickets of opener KL Rahul and captain Rohit Sharma. He shared 52 runs with Hardik Pandya (33 not out) for the fifth wicket before getting out in the first ball of the last over.

Hong Kong made the nets echo during training last night!00Are you ready for #INDvHK tomorrow? #ACC #AsiaCup2022 #GetReadyForEpic — AsianCricketCouncil (@ACCMedia1) August 30, 2022

“Sometimes, left-arm spinners and leg spinners are bowling, so sending left-handed batters is easy and they can take chances. That is why I was promoted,” Jadeja said in the press conference before the match against Hong Kong.

Pant could manage to stage a comeback into the Indian line-up but it will only be at the expense of vice-captain KL Rahul at the top. Rahul, who made a comeback from injury in the Zimbabwe ODI series, was dismissed for a first-ball duck against Pakistan.

Apart from Pant, India may also choose to give Ravichandran Ashwin a game with Avesh Khan proving less than effective in the clash against Pakistan.

India vs Hong Kong Predicted Playing XI

India Predicted 11: Rohit Sharma(c), KL Rahul/Rishabh Pant, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik(wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan/Ravichandran Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal

Hong Kong Predicted 11: Yasim Murtaza, Nizakat Khan(c), Babar Hayat, Kinchit Shah, Aizaz Khan, Scott Mckechnie (wk), Zeeshan Ali, Haroon Arshad, Ehsan Khan, Mohammad Ghazanfar, Ayush Shukla