Arch rivals India and
Pakistan will be up against each other for the sixth time in the ICC T20 World
Cup
being held in the United Arab Emirates and Oman. It will be the opening
match for both sides and the skippers will be hoping to start their campaign with a win. The fixture will take place on Sunday at the Dubai
International Stadium.

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The Pakistanis will be
led by Babar Azam, the batter is regarded as one of the best contemporary
batsmen in the world and will be hoping to lead his side from the front. His
wicket will play a crucial role in the match.

The sides have met
five times in the World T20 but much to Pakistan’s misery, they have never
managed to beat the Indians in the tournament having tied on one occasion and
losing on the other four.

However, the Pakistan
cricket team has come a long way since then and after a phase of rebuilding
they have emerged as a force to be dealt with in the shortest format of the
game.

Here is a look at the predicted playing XI for the all-important clash:

Babar Azam

The skipper will be stepping
on to the field with confidence after scoring a half century in the side’s warm
up fixture against West Indies. He will be hoping to reiterate that performance
and lead his side to victory.

Mohammad Rizwan

The wicketkeeper and
opener has been a strong presence behind the stumps but his batting prowess has
not come to light in the warm up fixture. He managed to score just 32 runs in
both matches combined and will be looking to improve.

Fakhar Zaman

He proved to be Pakistan’s
most formidable scorer as he scored 52 runs in the first warm-up fixture and 46
runs not out in the second fixture.

Mohammad Hafeez

The middle order
batter has been struggling for form as he was dismissed for a duck in the
previous match and scored just 13 runs in the fixture against South Africa with
a strike rate of less than 100.

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Shoaib Malik

The man whose career
has spanned over two decades has been Pakistan’s most reliant batter against
India in recent times. The side will be hoping that Malik’s experience comes in
handy against India.

Asif Ali

Ali’s best version is
seen in the shortest format of the game. His explosive innings of 32 runs in 18
balls against South Africa was crucial in ensuring the side’s victory.

Imad Wasim

In addition to his
bowling prowess, Imad adds to the side with his batting as well having played
some noteworthy innings through his career. His accuracy and variation prove to
be a big weapon.

Shadab Khan

The all-rounder’s leg
breaks successfully trap the batters more often than not and his ability to hit
the ball out of the park effortlessly is an added plus.

Hasan Ali 

While he proved to be
very expensive against South Africa but he made a comeback in the match against
West Indies as he picked up two wickets while conceding just 21 runs in four
overs.

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Shaheen Afridi

The fast bowler has
successfully picked up two wickets each in the last two warm up fixtures of
Pakistan but he will be hoping to improve his economy rate.

Haris Rauf

He successfully picked
up 2 wickets for 32 runs against West Indies and will be hoping to maintain
that rhythm against India.

Will you make any
changes to Pakistan’s line-up, if any? Let us know in the comments.