Team India decided to take the day off in Pallekele on Thursday after Wednesday's hectic travelling. But a little after Rohit Sharma's men reached Kandy, Pakistan captain Babar Azam had sounded the first warning.

Babar was convinced that their emphatic win over Nepal in the Asia Cup opener on Wednesday would serve as "good preparation" and provide "confidence" ahead of Saturday's key clash against India, weather permitting.

While several of India's players are short of match practice because of injuries and breaks as part of workload management since the Tests in West Indies, Pakistan will enjoy the advantage of having already played a match in the tournament.

Babar's form could be a worry for India. He has spent most of the last two months batting on Sri Lankan pitches, first in the Test series in June, then in the Lankan Premier League before taking on Afghanistan in a three-match ODI series.

In five ODIs against India, Babar has 158 runs at an average of 31.6. His highest of 48 came in the last World Cup at Old Trafford before Kuldeep Yadav knocked off his stumps.

The 28-year-old has matured since taking over the captaincy. He becomes tough to dislodge if he can survive the initial few overs.

Besides a settled top-three, Pakistan batters who can turn the tide in the crucial middle overs have also contributed to their No.1 status in ODIs. Mohammad Rizwan's inexplicable run out did annoy Babar on Wednesday but Iftikhar Ahmed excelled.

The uncertainty over KL Rahul's fitness could hurt India's chances in the Asia Cup. The batting order will remain a mystery if Ishan Kishan opens the innings with Rohit Sharma. Shubman Gill may have to drop to No.3 with Kohli taking the No.4 position.

But will Kohli agree to bat lower down the order or should Rohit drop to No.4 with Kishan and Gill opening? Rahul Dravid or Rohit didn't provide any clue at the conditioning camp.

There's also a possibility that India may not disturb the top three with Shreyas Iyer back at No.4 and Kishan batting at No.5. In such circumstances, can the likes of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja carry the innings in the event of a top-order collapse?

Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf have it in them to dislodge the top three quickly and it will be left to Iyer to anchor the innings.

Rahul's availability would have helped and it's understandable why Dravid was keen on him. In the event of Rahul not recovering for the World Cup, it will be up to the team management to finalise their batting strategy in Lanka itself. Else, it could be too late to go back to the drawing board.

Mohammed Shami (from left), Mohammed Siraj, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja in Pallekele on Friday. Twitter