In the build-up to the T20 World Cup 2022, all sixteen captains posed together, and had a candid conversation with each other. But one picture that not only stole the limelight but sparked a meme-fest on the internet was that of Babar Azam and Rohit Sharma. Both captains were spotted with wide, sheepish smiles as they stood next to each other and posed for the camera.

The netizens were quick to draw parallels with desi pre-wedding shots. Babar, however, has opened up on the moments that led to this picture The instruction from the photography team was to sport an aggressive face that embody the intense rivalry both nations share, but both of them couldn’t do that for long and broke into laughter.

In a video shared by the ICC, Babar said, “We were taking some headshots with a serious and aggressive face. During such shoots, when one is looking eye to eye with someone else, after a point of time invariably we break into laughter. That’s what happened there.”

Smiles aside, Rohit Sharma will be under immense pressure to avenge the last year’s defeat to Pakistan when they meet at Melbourne Cricket Ground in a few hours. The weather improved significantly, and the full match, which seemed almost impossible till yesterday, is expected. But the conditions will largely be conducive to the fast bowlers, and both teams would like to bowl first.

If Pakistan have Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah who can rough up the Indian batters with extreme pace, India have got the pace duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh. They may not be as fast as their Pakistani counterpart, but can seamlessly run through any side if they get even an iota of movement from the pitch.

India would resist the temptation to play Mohammed Shami and go ahead with Harshal Patel, as the latter adds to the batting depth of the team. The top-order walks themselves, and Dinesh Karthik is likely to start ahead of Rishabh Pant. With no left-handed batter in the top and middle order, India will place their faith on Axar Patel, a bowling all-rounder who can chip in with the bat.

India And Pakistan Probable XIs

India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin 

Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Shan Masood, Shadab Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Asif Ali, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Haider Ali,Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi 

Lead Image: ICC/Twitter