India vs Afghanistan T20 cricket series is scheduled to play 3 T20 international games against Afghanistan between the 11th of January to 17.
When: January 11, 14, 17 (Starts at 7:00 pm)
Team players :
Ind: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh,Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel,
Afg : Ibrahim Zadran (captain), Hazratullah Zazai, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Najibullah Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Azmatullah Omarzai, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mohammad Saleem, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Noor Ahmad, Qais Ahmad, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Rahmat Shah, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Fareed Ahmad,
Both teams have previously played during five T20 internationals which saw India winning four of them and the other that ended without a winner.
In reality, Kohli will only play the third and fourth game as he is unable to play the first match because of “personal reasons” India coach Rahul Dravid declared.
Sharma is the captain in the three-match series which starts on Thursday, just two months after guiding the nation’s cricket-mad streak to a fifty-over World Cup final, which they were defeated by Australia.
Middle order batter Suryakumar Yadav took over captaincy responsibility in both India’s T20 series following the one-day international (ODI) World Cup, helping them win an victory at home of 4-1 over Australia and one-sided drawing in the series of three matches in South Africa, but Sharma is expected to return to the captaincy after a lengthy absence in T20 internationals.
Yadav is recuperating from an ankle surgery and is not included in the team and neither will India’s former T20 captain Hardik Pandya who is continuing his rehabilitation from an injury that which he suffered in his time at the World Cup.
They both Sharma and Kohli have played their last T20 International match back in 2022 during which India fell to England in the semi-finals in the T20 World Cup in Australia.
Afghanistan will ‘hassle’ as Rashid Khan is not playing
As of now, Afghanistan will be without their most famous player, Rashid Khan, as the latter recovers from a back surgery that prevented him from playing from his participation in the World Cup in India.
Afghanistan captain Ibrahim Zadran said Khan is “not fully fit” however he’s traveling in the squad.
Khan 25, who is among the most popular Afghan cricketers with a record of success in T20 cricket. He previously played for Afghanistan during T20 internationals, and has played as a player in the Indian Premier League since 2017.
“Without Rashid, we will struggle, as his knowledge is vital to us all However, it’s cricket, and you have to be prepared for any type of situation.” Zadran added.
Afghanistan displayed impressive performances during the ODI World Cup, with wins in the face of England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Netherlands.
Zadran 22, a 22-year-old opening batsman, stated that the his fans’ expectations are high and can spur teams to improve their performance.
“Not just in Afghanistan there are people who expect a lot of different things. But everywhere people are expecting number of things] from us because we won a fantastic World Cup,” he stated.
Zadran stated that the team would like to “play constructive cricket and show our ability in the playing field”.
The T20 series begins in Mohali on the 11th of January. The next game is played at Indore the 14th of January, and the final match will be played in Bengaluru on 17 January.
The series will be vital for both teams in the build towards the 2024 T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to take place within The West Indies and the United States in June.
