'Tempted to play him. We haven't played the brand of cricket we talk about vs Pakistan': Jaffer's unique playing XI pick

India will meet Pakistan in their first Super Four match of the 2022 Asia Cup on Sunday.

Team India will be aiming to continue on its winning run when the side takes on Pakistan in the Super Four game of the 2022 Asia Cup on Sunday (September 4). The Rohit Sharma-led side registered victories over Pakistan and Hong Kong in their Group A matches, securing a direct qualification to the Super Four stage. However, the side endured a setback on Friday when its star all-rounder, Ravindra Jadeja was ruled out from the remainder of the tournament due to injury.

Rohit Sharma(AP)

Axar Patel was named as his replacement in the team but former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer believes that he would be tempted to bring in in Deepak Hooda in place of Jadeja, as his presence would provide the side with batting depth.

“I will be tempted, there is no doubt about that. Because it makes the batting even more stronger. Against Pakistan specially, we have not played the brand of cricket we talk about, that aggressive approach, because our batting is till seven. If Hooda comes in, the batting will get a bit longer, so yeah, I will be tempted. He can bowl those two overs and he can bat anywhere," Jaffer said on ESPNCricinfo.

However, Jaffer believes that it is more likely that Axar takes Hooda's spot in the XI because the former provides a left-arm batting option in the XI.

“I think that is the only question. If India doesn't play Axar Patel, or even Rishabh Pant, I mean Rishabh Pant is not expected to play as because India have gone with Dinesh Karthik. But the only problem is, there's no left-hander. Pakistan have Shadab Khan and Mohammed Nawaz. So you will be tempted to play atleast one left-hander and use him as a floater when they're bowling. So saying that, that's the only question mark. So because of that we might see Axar Patel and not Deepak Hooda,” Jaffer stated.