Asia Cup 2022: Do these pictures really reveal India's playing XI against Pakistan?

Do those pictures tell the whole story? Did Team India really reveal its playing XI two days ahead of their high-profile clash with Pakistan in the Asia Cup?

That's what cricket fans on social media are wondering after the BCCI shared a series of pictures of Indian players from their nets in Dubai on Friday evening. That looks pretty innocent until you notice that the pictures in a sequence read like a possible batting line up.

The caption for the post read: The caption for the post, which has 10 pictures, read, "#TeamIndia train, our cameras go click-click #AsiaCup2022 | #AsiaCup.”


And these were the pictures of the players:KL Rahul + Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh.

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Wii this be India's playing XI in Saturday's clash against Pakistan? Are India going ahead with four pacers - Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh. Will they play leggie Yuzvendra Chahal ahead of the left arm orthodox of Ravindra Jadeja and the offspin of Ravichandra Ashwin? Won't that leave the team with an uncomfortably longer tail? Will Deepak Hooda, who is in decent form, be left behind on the bench?

These were the questions many are asking aloud. The answers to some of them may not seem satisfactory enough for avid watchers of the game. And there are many who believe that this Insta 'lineup' is at best random, and at most a red herring.

India's strategy for the Asia Cup will also be read by many as the last bit of fine tuning ahead of the T20 World Cup coming up later this year. Though of course the conditions Down Under vary hugely with those in Dubai.

India are looking forward to taking on Pakistan in their Asia Cup opener and get revenge for the humiliation suffered during the T20 World Cup last year at the same venue.