India vs Pakistan Champions Trophy Final 2017: Gautam Gambhir predicts playing XI. No place for R Ashwin?

Virat Kohli-led team India will take on the arch-rivals Pakistan in the final of the Champions Trophy 2017 cricket tournament at The Oval in London on June 18

By: Karan Nanda |
June 18, 2017 12:14 pm

With an aim to maintain their dominance, Virat Kohli-led team India will take on the arch-rivals Pakistan in the final of the Champions Trophy 2017 cricket tournament at The Oval in London on June 18. Ahead of their title clash, Gautam Gambhir, who is struggling to find his place in the Indian squad, has advised skipper Virat Kohli to include pacer Umesh Yadav in place of Ravichandran Ashwin in the playing XI.

“Due to bouncy nature of the Oval pitch Umesh Yadav deserve a place in playing XI,” said Gauatm Gambhir, adding that subcontinent teams are comfortable against spin.

Led by Virat Kohli, India will be playing their fourth Champions Trophy final while Pakistan, having already lost to India in the league matches, their first-ever tournament decider. India will be taking the field today as the defending champions.

Team India may be ahead against Pakistan in ICC tournaments by an 8-2 margin, but in all ODI tournament finals Pakistan holds a 6-2 edge in the head-to-head battle against India.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicket-keeper), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Dinesh Karthik, Mohammed Shami, Ajinkya Rahane, Umesh Yadav.

Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain and wicket-keeper), Ahmed Shehzad, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir, Rumman Raees, Junaid Khan, Imad Wasim, Fahim Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail.