World Cup 2019, Match 44: SL vs IND - India's Predicted Playing 11 & Key Players

Team India secured a place in the semi-final with a 28-run win against Bangladesh. India's defeat against England led to a couple of changes in the playing XI against Bangladesh. Now that the Indian team has already made it to the semi-finals of the World Cup, it will be interesting to see whether the team management will rest some key players or opt not to break the momentum and persist with the same line-up.

Here is India's predicted playing XI for the game against Sri Lanka.

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Openers - Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul

Rohit Sharma extended his scintillating form in the World Cup in the game against Bangladesh. Rohit's opening partner, however, has been blowing hot and cold in the tournament so far. Rahul did score some runs against Bangladesh but hasn't looked at his fluent best yet.

Middle-order - Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik

India's middle order has been a point of concern for the Men in Blue. Vijay Shankar and Kedar Jadhav, who were initially considered as certainties in the playing XI, have lost their places to Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik. Pant looked in good nick against Bangladesh and his performance will be crucial for Team India in the knockouts. India is also likely to persist with Dinesh Karthik.

Wicket-keeper and All-rounder - MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya

Dhoni's low strike-rate has been the biggest talking point in India's World Cup campaign. Will he break free against Sri Lanka? Pandya, on the other hand, flattered to deceive with the bat in the last game but was excellent with the ball, thereby only solidifying the notion that he can contribute in multiple ways to this Indian side.

Bowlers - Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal

India is likely to continue with the strategy of playing with three front-line seamers. Yuzvendra Chahal will most likely be the team's lone spinner.

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Key players

Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant

After replacing the Vijay Shankar in the playing XI, Rishabh Pant has got starts in the two games that he has played. Pant can take the game away from the opposition in a few overs and a good outing against a not-so-confident Sri Lankan bowling-attack will do a world of good for Pant.

Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah has been simply spectacular for India. And even though the speedster has played all the seven league matches for India on the trot, the team management might decide against resting him as that might disrupt his rhythm.

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India's predicted playing 11

Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah.

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