Dubai [UAE], September 21 (ANI): Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha and white-ball head coach Mike Hesson have devised a plan to counter the spin threat posed by arch-rival India in their Super Fours fixture at the ongoing Asia Cup in Dubai on Sunday, according to Geo News.

Pakistan floundered against India's spin magic, especially Kuldeep Yadav, at the same venue and succumbed to a landslide 7-wicket defeat in the group stage last week. The left-arm wrist spinner dismantled Pakistan's attack, scything the wickets of Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Nawaz and Hasan Nawaz to return with figures of 3/18.

Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy combined to scalp three wickets to further inflict misery on Pakistan. To neutralise the threat and avoid the same fate in round two, Pakistan's think tank has conjured a potential winning formula.

According to Geo News, all-rounder Faheem Ashraf, known for providing firepower in the middle, is expected to make a comeback. He was a part of the final XI for Pakistan's campaign opener against Oman and India but was dropped from the side against the UAE. Faheem endured mediocre outings with the bat, mustering up scores of 8(4) and 11(14).

Along with Faheem, fast-bowling all-rounder Hussain Talat is likely to make his first appearance in the ongoing Asia Cup. Khushdil Shah, who replaced Faheem against the UAE on Wednesday, is expected to be left out alongside young batter Hassan Nawaz.

During the group-stage encounter, Pakistan opted to bat and immediately repented its decision. Indian bowlers cast a spell to leave the Men in Green threadbare at 64/6. Shaheen Afridi's late fireworks fuelled Pakistan to a paltry 127/9. In reply, India skipper Suryakumar Yadav anchored the chase with a composed 47* knock with a touch of flamboyance to gun down the total with 25 balls to spare.

The fixture was soon consumed by off-field drama after India refused to shake hands with their counterparts. In return, Pakistan opted out of the post-match presentation. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) held match referee Andy Pycroft accountable for the entire fiasco and asked for his immediate removal.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) threatened to boycott their must-win fixture against the UAE and cancelled the pre-match press conference for the contest as well. Pakistan players arrived late at the Dubai International Stadium, forcing the game to be delayed by one hour. Pakistan management met Pycroft before the toss and then shared a muted video of the meeting, which led to heavy backlash.

Pakistan continued with its pattern of cancelling the pre-match presser by calling off the one on Saturday before taking on India. Pycroft will stand in as the match referee after all the off-field drama. Amid the handshake row and ongoing friction with Pycroft, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi dropped in at Pakistan's training session, met with players and conferred at length with coach Hesson.

Naqvi, who is also the chair of the Asian Cricket Council, dropped in at the training session on Saturday evening and had a brief chat with the players at the ICC Academy. He then went on to meet Hesson and had an intense conversation with the former New Zealand cricketer. Naqvi was animated throughout their conversation and even appeared to be emphasising specific points with his gestures.

Pakistan's likely playing XI: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Salman Ali Agha (captain), Mohammad Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Abrar Ahmed. (ANI)