'If he clicks, he will make the match one-sided and finish it': Sehwag names 'first pick' player for India vs Pakistan

India vs Pakistan: The final XI remains to be seen but former India opener Virender Sehwag knows the first name he would like to see in India's XI for the T20 World Cup match against Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday.

In a matter of few hours, the mother of all cricketing battles will re-ignite as India and Pakistan begin their T20 World Cup campaign with what promises to be a blockbuster contest. This is probably the only match that garners more attention than the final itself as cricketing contests between the two nations have been far and few lately. In the last five years, the two teams have faced each other only six times, with India winning five and Pakistan triumphing once.

Virender Sehwag breaks down India's Playing XI for Pakistan match.  (Getty)

As the Dubai International Cricket Stadium readies itself to be jam-packed, all eyes will be on the Playing XIs of both teams. Babar Azam's Pakistan revealed their squad of 12 on the even of the match, while Virat Kohli remained mum about India's combination. He had said ahead of India's first warm-up against England that India are sorted as to what their XI is going to be for the opener even as excitement continued to generate around it.

The final XI remains to be seen but former India opener Virender Sehwag knows the first name he would like to see in Kohli's XI, which is none other than Hardik Pandya. Sehwag believes that that if the 27-year-old has a good evening in Dubai, the match is all India's to win, such is the destructive nature of the all-rounder.

"He will be on my team. The kind of batter he is, if he clicks, he'll make the match one-sided, and finish it. He has the ability, which he has shown many times. Yes, if he was bowling fit, that would have been the icing on the cake," Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.

"You should go with five bowlers plus if Hardik Pandya or someone else from the top-order bowls a few overs, it'll be the perfect team for me... His batting is surely a concern. If he's not in form or not batting well in the nets, then you can maybe see another batter, otherwise he'll be my first pick."

Sehwag weighed in on India's bowling combination too, explaining how the spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Varun Chakravarthy will work better for India than that of veteran off-spinner R Ashwin and young leg-spinner Rahul Chahar.

"Jadeja gives you the combination of batting and bowling. He can bowl four overs because Pakistan just have one left-hander, which is Fakhar Zaman. Varun Chakravarthy will play against Pakistan for the first time so even the Pakistanis don't know what kind of bowling he offers, so he could be that X-factor. Ashwin and Rahul Chahar are normal spinners. I believe the Pakistani batters will play them out easily because they are good players of spin," Sehwag added.

As far as the fast-bowling line-up is concerned, Sehwag backed Bhuvneshwar Kumar to be the third seam option along with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami. Bhuvneshwar appeared off-colour during the England warm-up conceding over 50 runs in 4 overs, but the fast bowler received backing from captain Kohli.

"I am going with Bhuvneshwar Kumar because of his superior experience. He can hit good yorkers at the death; he can trouble the batters if there's swing on offer with the new ball... He's surely isn't in great bowling rhythm, but that doesn't matter in an India-Pakistan match because you try to give more than 100 percent," Sehwag pointed out.