1. Openers
Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul: Rohit, a white ball great of all time, is a must at the top as he can hurt the opponents severely. The last time India met Pakistan in the ICC 50 over World Cup in 2019, Rohit had made a bruising hundred. Rahul, on the other hand, showed good form for Punjab Kings in the IPL 2021 and continued in the same vein in the warm up match against England a couple of days back. If Rohit and Rahul combine well then India will have a lot to look forward to, or else the slightly untested middle order will have some burden on it.
2. Middle order batsmen
Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav: The modest form of captain Kohli has been a worry for India for a while now, and he did not show any spark in the side game against England. Kohli batted reasonably for Royal Challengers Bangalore scoring over 300 runs but he needs to get going against the opposition from across the border.
Kishan seemed to have regained his mojo with a couple of brutal fifties for Mumbai Indians and in the side game against England. He should be walking in at 4, while Surya too did not have a great time in the IPL 2021 but seemed to be in a good space against England. This middle order needs to fire collectively against an unpredictable rival.
3. All=rounders
Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja. Hardik will be a massive concern for India. He was not in any kind of form for a while now, and needs to fire as a batsman. It is quite unlikely that he will bowl, and that will add more pressure on him to contribute as a batsman. After a slow start for the Chennai Super Kings, Jadeja seemed to have returned to near his best and played a big role in CSK grabbing their 4th title. India will require the chutzpah of Jadeja down the order as a batsman and his accurate left arm spin to get the better of the opponents.
4. Bowlers
Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy: In a good news for India, each of this brigade is in fine form, though India will ponder on the inclusion of a second spinner considering the slow nature of Dubai pitch.