Karachi/Colombo, February 14 According to sources, Pakistan is likely to field four specialist bowlers – two spinners and two fast bowlers – in their T20 World Cup blockbuster against arch-rivals India on Sunday in Colombo.
A source close to the team said that head coach Mike Hesson and captain Salman Ali Agha are keen to start the match with both specialist spinners Abrar Ahmed and Usman Tariq, as well as two specialist fast bowlers, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Salman Mirza.
The team management is also likely to make a decision on dropping one all-rounder from among Shadab Khan, Muhammad Nawaz, and Faheem Ashraf.
"The only problem for the team management is: if they go in with four specialist bowlers, they have to decide who will sit out among Faheem, Shadab, and Nawaz," the source said.
He said that with Saim Ayub, Sahabzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Babar Azam, and Usman Khan occupying the top five positions, the team management has to decide who to play at number six and seven, followed by the four bowlers.
The source said that Nawaz is likely to sit out since he is a left-arm spinner, and India have left-handed batters such as Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Verma, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Arshdeep Singh.
"The feeling is that it would be better to play Faheem since he is in good batting form, and he would be the third fast bowler if needed, and Shadab, whose leg spin would be useful against the left-handed batters," the source said.
He said that with Abrar, Usman, Shadab, and Saim Ayub available as spin options, the team management is confident that they can manage without Nawaz in the high-profile match.
However, he insisted that the decision could change after a final look at the Premadasa stadium pitch on Sunday, as well as seeing how the weather holds up.
Pakistan will also be playing at the Premadasa for the first time in the tournament.
Pakistan won a T20 series in Sri Lanka last month, but all the matches were played in Dambulla, while the team has played both its T20 World Cup games against the Netherlands and USA at the Sinhalese Sports Ground.
Probable Pakistan XI: Saim Ayub, Sahabzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha (Capt), Babar Azam, Usman Khan, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq.