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The D-day is here. India and Pakistan are set to take on each other at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) before one lakh fans. The excitement to see the arch-rivals locking horns is unmatchable and the players also know the importance of this game. India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to bowl first in the all-important clash. 

But Sharma left everyone confused when he was asked to name India’s playing XI for the match by Ravi Shastri. Rohit said India are playing seven batters, an all-rounder, three pacers and two spinners. This certainty does not add up to the allowed number of players in a team. Going by Rohit’s statement, India would be fielding 13 players instead of 11. 

Well, it was not that confusing either. Sharma simply did not want to name all the eleven players and rather named the roles they will be playing in the game. He counted Axar Patel as an all-rounder, a spinner as well a batter. 

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik(w), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh

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