Afghanistan tour of India (2024)

[hassan918]

Kabul, 21st November 2023: Afghanistan Cricket Board confirms that the Afghanistan National Cricket Team will tour India for a three-match T20I series in early January 2024. The three T20I matches are scheduled for the 11th, 14th & 17th of January.

The first of the three-match T20I series is scheduled for the 11th of January in Mohali, followed by the second and third matches on January 14th and 17th in Indore and Bengaluru, respectively.

While Afghanistan and India have crossed paths in various ACC and ICC events, this series marks the first time these nations will engage in a multi-match white-ball series.

Afghanistan recently visited India for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023, where they secured the 6th position on the points table after registering memorable victories against England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.

Source: ACB

 

[Champ_Pal]

Afg are a mid tier team and they will pose a great challenge to Indians. A great opportunity to test Youngsters and IPL stars.

 

[FearlessRoar]

I hope they will play with full spirits because they never put effort into playing against India.

 

[sweep_shot]

I hope they will play with full spirits because they never put effort into playing against India.

Yeah. Intensity seems missing when they play India.

 

[cricketjoshila]

Yeah. Intensity seems missing when they play India.

What's the unit of measurement of intensity?

 

[FearlessRoar]

What's the unit of measurement of intensity?

Aggression

 

[sweep_shot]

What's the unit of measurement of intensity?

It is subjective.

But, you can see how Afghans play when they face Pakistan and other teams. They are far more eager to win.

Against India, they seem quite mellow. It is like they are doing a picnic.

 

[cricketjoshila]

It is subjective.

But, you can see how Afghans play when they face Pakistan and other teams. They are far more eager to win.

Against India, they seem quite mellow. It is like they are doing a picnic.

Afghans scored the same 270-280 against India that they scored against other teams.

Aggression

How to measure that?

 

[FearlessRoar]

Afghans scored the same 270-280 against India that they scored against other teams.




How to measure that?

Why you want to measure it? Don't you watch cricket? Have you never seen Afghanistan vs India?

As per my observation, they never play hard against India.

 

[W63L35]

Too bad... Irfan Pathan and Rashid Khan won't get to dance together at the same time.

 

[Kianig89]

Since India's A and B team are fully capable of winning any tournament and their C team will play Australia in a t20 series shortly. Therefore, for a team of Afghanistan calibre India should select an "E" team to make it a contest and seeds for new healthy rivalry in Asia are sown, since apart from Pak v Sl every other rivalry in Asia is intense full of hatred vengeance , armaggedon and ferocious.

Hopefully India vs AfG series will be named as Narendra-Karzai Cup labelled as "NK" Cup

 

[SpiritOf1903]

They're effectively Indian academy products hence their reverence for India

 

[Champ_Pal]

It is subjective.

But, you can see how Afghans play when they face Pakistan and other teams. They are far more eager to win.

Against India, they seem quite mellow. It is like they are doing a picnic.

Pak plays meek against Afghanistan. Hence PCT fans feel that Afg is aggressive against them only.

 

[Mp812]

What's the unit of measurement of intensity?

Imagination per sq feet

 

[Nil Dhumrojal]

Hoping for a great series

 

[FearlessRoar]

Hoping Afghans will play like fighters not as friends.

 

[amit]

Afghanistan are playing 2 ODIs and 3 T20Is vs UAE from 25 December - 1 January before this series. They can use the UAE series to try out new players and then play full strength vs India

India will be without many players as the ones who played SA Tests will be rested. More opportunities for youngsters to make their name

 

[BouncerGuy]

India Suffer Hardik Pandya Blow For Afghanistan T20Is, All-Rounder Likely To Miss Series

Star Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya is likely be missing the T20I series against Afghanistan, but will be fit before the Indian Premier League (IPL) from his ankle injury, a source told ANI. Pandya was part of India's ICC Cricket World Cup squad. He played four matches, picking five wickets with the best bowling figures of 2/34 and scoring 11* against Australia in his only innings before an ankle injury sustained during a league stage game against Bangladesh on October 19 ruled him out of the tournament.

Pandya has not played any international cricket since then, having missed the five-match T20I series against Australia and the three-match T20I and ODI series during the tour to South Africa as well. Suryakumar Yadav led India in all the T20I matches while KL Rahul led the team in ODIs in the absence of Pandya and regular skipper Rohit Sharma, who requested some time off from white-ball cricket after the World Cup final against Australia.

The three-match T20I series against Afghanistan will be India's final international assignment, taking place from January 11-17, before the ICC T20 World Cup, which will take place in June at West Indies/USA.

In November this year, Pandya moved from Gujarat Titans (GT) to his former franchise Mumbai Indians (MI) after a trade between both franchises. The all-rounder spent two momentous years with GT, spearheading their campaign with aplomb. In GT's debut season in 2022, Hardik ensured a fairytale start, with the team lifting the coveted trophy, while they finished runners-up in their second season after a last-ball defeat in a thrilling final earlier this year.

Pandya has big shoes to fill as the new skipper of MI, as Rohit has led the franchise to five IPL title wins. He was announced as the new skipper of MI days after his trade to the franchise which put him on the map.

In 31 matches for GT from 2022-23, Pandya scored 833 runs at an average of 37.86 and a strike rate of over 133, with six half-centuries and a best score of 87*. He also had 11 wickets for the team, with the best figures of 3/17.

Pandya also played 92 matches for MI from 2015-2021, scoring 1,476 runs at an average of 27.33 at a strike rate of over 153, with four half-centuries and best score of 91. He also took 42 wickets for the team, with the best bowling figures of 3/20. Pandya has won five IPL trophies, four with MI (2015, 2017, 2019, 2020) and GT (2022).
​

SOURCE: NDTV

 

[FearlessRoar]

Afghanistan Cricket Board announces T20I squad for the upcoming series against India.

 

[Swashbuckler]

I hope they will play with full spirits because they never put effort into playing against India.

Would you say the same about Bangladesh vs Pakistan as compared to Bangladesh vs India? Because that is how it appears like, Bangladesh are always happy to lose to Pakistan but will go at 500% against India.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Would you say the same about Bangladesh vs Pakistan as compared to Bangladesh vs India? Because that is how it appears like, Bangladesh are always happy to lose to Pakistan but will go at 500% against India.

Bro, I think you should watch the Asia Cup 2012 final and the Asia Cup 2014 group stage match between Pakistan and Bangladesh.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Afghanistan Cricket Board announces T20I squad for the upcoming series against India.

View attachment 141093

Afghanistan stars return for T20I series against India

Afghanistan have named a 19-member squad for the three-match T20I series against India.

Rashid Khan makes a comeback to the Afghanistan side for the first time since the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023. However, there are doubts over his availability for the three-game series given that he's recovering from back surgery.

In his absence, Ibrahim Zadran has been named as the stand-in skipper. The opener recently led the Asian side to a 2-1 win over UAE. Ikram Alikhil returns to the squad after having been among the reserves in the UAE series.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman also returns after missing the T20I series in UAE.

Squad: Ibrahim Zadran (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ikram Alikhil (WK), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmaullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen Ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem, Qais Ahmad, Gulbadin Naib and Rashid Khan.

The series commences on 11 January in Mohali.

Schedule:

11th January, 1st T20I, Mohali
14th January, 2nd T20I, Indore
17th January, 3rd T20I, Bengaluru

 

[Swashbuckler]

Bro, I think you should watch the Asia Cup 2012 final and the Asia Cup 2014 group stage match between Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Similarly you should watch the 2019 WC game between India and Afghanistan. And the 2018 Asia Cup game between the two sides.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Similarly you should watch the 2019 WC game between India and Afghanistan. And the 2018 Asia Cup game between the two sides.

I watched those games, and they were quite friendly. Especially the 2018 Asia Cup match, which ended in a tie, didn't seem too far from being a friendly game. I didn't sense any intense competition.

 

[FearlessRoar]

As per reports, Suryakumar Yadav & Hardik Pandya to miss the T20I series against Afghanistan due to respective injuries

 

[Swashbuckler]

I watched those games, and they were quite friendly. Especially the 2018 Asia Cup match, which ended in a tie, didn't seem too far from being a friendly game. I didn't sense any intense competition.

Pak-BD games are much much more friendlier than Ind-BD. Whether it be men's, women's or U-19. 1 or 2 heated moments don't matter, when it comes to matches vs Indians, even their rookies start abusing big names like Kohli and Rohit from ball one, I have never seen Afghan players abuse Babar, Shaheen, Misbah, YK. Azhar Ali etc.

Anyway quality of cricket matters first and foremost. This Australian team is quite friendly yet wins so many big titles, in the 2010-14 period they were at their worst behavior but got smoked so many times, both in bilaterals and ICC tournaments.

Match ups also matter, BD plays better against Ind, Afg plays better against Pak.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Afghanistan Team have arrived in Mohali for their three-match T20I series against India, starting January 11.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Kohli, Rohit return for T20I series against Afghanistan

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have announced a 16-member squad for the three-matchT20I series against Afghanistan.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have made a comeback to India's T20I setup for the first time since the end of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022, in what is a major development for the side ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024.

Rohit leads the side, while Jitesh Sharma and Sanju Samson will be the two wicket-keepers. There are a number of all-round options in the side including Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel. Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav will be the leg-spinners, while Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh and Mukesh Kumar handle the pace department.

The other batters in the side are Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Tilak Varma.

India’s squad for the three T20Is against Afghanistan: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar

The three-match T20I series starts on January 11, 2024.

Source: ICC

 

[MANU ROY]

India’s squad for T20I series against Afghanistan

Rohit Sharma (C), S Gill, Y Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, W Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar

Source: BCCI

Seriously kohli and rohit in same 11 lol and mukesh we doomed

 

[FearlessRoar]

Seriously kohli and rohit in same 11 lol and mukesh we doomed

Is this happening for the first time?

 

[MANU ROY]

Is this happening for the first time?

No it always happen that's the issue kohli and rohit played so many t20 world cup they couldn't win the trophy these seniors taking young players opportunity

 

[FearlessRoar]

No it always happen that's the issue kohli and rohit played so many t20 world cup they couldn't win the trophy these seniors taking young players opportunity

Maybe the management wants to test them before the World Cup selection.

 

[Cover Drive Six]

No it always happen that's the issue kohli and rohit played so many t20 world cup they couldn't win the trophy these seniors taking young players opportunity

Which young player are you talking about?
SKY, Ishan, Pant, Iyer, Hardik have already played in multiple T20 tournaments and laid eggs.
It's Kohli who consistently lifts the team and takes them to knockouts in T20 World Cups, unlike our so called T20 youngsters.
Kohli keeps playing clutch innings in T20 tournaments, just like how he played the iconic MCG innings few months back in the last World Cup. He has a pretty good record in T20 tournaments.
I would pick one Kohli over multiple SKY's and Iyer's.

 

[deltexas]

Which young player are you talking about?
SKY, Ishan, Pant, Iyer, Hardik have already played in multiple T20 tournaments and laid eggs.
It's Kohli who consistently lifts the team and takes them to knockouts in T20 World Cups, unlike our so called T20 youngsters.
Kohli keeps playing clutch innings in T20 tournaments, just like how he played the iconic MCG innings few months back in the last World Cup. He has a pretty good record in T20 tournaments.
I would pick one Kohli over multiple SKY's and Iyer's.

Lot of people are blinded by that Kohlis knock against Pak. And he is milking it completely. Nawaz lost the game for Pak with his horrendous last over. Fact is Kohli is too slow for T20s. He's still the 1st name on the sheet for me for tests and ODIS. But no way for T20s. Game has moved on. No need for anchors or run a ball batsmen in T20 cricket . He was dismal in the 21 T20 WC as well. In the 222 T20 sf he""anchored" at run a ball and if not for Pandya who got close to 60 runs in the last 4 overs, Ind would have folded for less than 160 around 140 and End would have chased in 10 overs itself. No place for Kohli Rohit Jadeja in T20s. These seniors are like leeches always coming back.. There goes another WC for Ind.

 

[deltexas]

Also Kohli - At No.3, will face lots of spin on the slow tracks in WI & USA. He soaks up balls as anchor. This is Kohli's spin SR since Jan 2019: IPL - 112.9 over 54 inngs, T20Is - 114.7 over 43 inngs.

 

[Vikram1989]

Now because of these oldies coming back, only one of jaiswal/gill can play.if rinku has to play,then at 7 Jitesh has to play.so at 8 jadeja,9 kd will be there.In a sense entire team got messed.In worst case ,if our highly biased team coach wants to bring KL at rinkus cost,then God save us.After all this nonsense, Bishnoi will miss out.Rohit can't play outside of powerplay due to his hamstring issues.

 

[MANU ROY]

Which young player are you talking about?
SKY, Ishan, Pant, Iyer, Hardik have already played in multiple T20 tournaments and laid eggs.
It's Kohli who consistently lifts the team and takes them to knockouts in T20 World Cups, unlike our so called T20 youngsters.
Kohli keeps playing clutch innings in T20 tournaments, just like how he played the iconic MCG innings few months back in the last World Cup. He has a pretty good record in T20 tournaments.
I would pick one Kohli over multiple SKY's and Iyer's.

DId we won any t20 trophy all these years he can't win the trophy then what the use of mcg innings And not these youngsters SKY, Ishan, Pant, Iyer, Hardik I talk about players like Jaiswal rinku sunder and there is couple of uncapped players Abhishek parag doing well in domestic

 

[cricketjoshila]

What a joke of a squad!!!!

BCCI cannot find 5 proper selectors. This committee isn't any better than the last one.

Where is Ishan Kishan?

Where is Iyer? He was VC in the last series?

What is Axar Patel doing in the team?

And Mukesh Kumar? Really?

We will not win Jack till we get our selection right.

 

[RidiculousMan]

Kohli, Rohit return for T20I series against Afghanistan

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have announced a 16-member squad for the three-matchT20I series against Afghanistan.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have made a comeback to India's T20I setup for the first time since the end of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022, in what is a major development for the side ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024.

Rohit leads the side, while Jitesh Sharma and Sanju Samson will be the two wicket-keepers. There are a number of all-round options in the side including Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel. Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav will be the leg-spinners, while Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh and Mukesh Kumar handle the pace department.

The other batters in the side are Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Tilak Varma.

India’s squad for the three T20Is against Afghanistan: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar

The three-match T20I series starts on January 11, 2024.

Source: ICC

First team squad barring a couple players. This is interesting. Maybe they think Afghanistan can possibly beat India.

 

[MANU ROY]

What a joke of a squad!!!!

BCCI cannot find 5 proper selectors. This committee isn't any better than the last one.

Where is Ishan Kishan?

Where is Iyer? He was VC in the last series?

What is Axar Patel doing in the team?

And Mukesh Kumar? Really?

We will not win Jack till we get our selection right.

Selectors have no consistency Axar played against Australia and he done well in that series but drop in next series don't know what they see in Mukesh mavi done okay he can bat aggressively he never picked again

 

[Cover Drive Six]

Lot of people are blinded by that Kohlis knock against Pak. And he is milking it completely. Nawaz lost the game for Pak with his horrendous last over. Fact is Kohli is too slow for T20s. He's still the 1st name on the sheet for me for tests and ODIS. But no way for T20s. Game has moved on. No need for anchors or run a ball batsmen in T20 cricket . He was dismal in the 21 T20 WC as well. In the 222 T20 sf he""anchored" at run a ball and if not for Pandya who got close to 60 runs in the last 4 overs, Ind would have folded for less than 160 around 140 and End would have chased in 10 overs itself. No place for Kohli Rohit Jadeja in T20s. These seniors are like leeches always coming back.. There goes another WC for Ind.

The T20 game has evolved, but we don't have better players who can perform on the big stage. On paper, IPL bullies may look great, but we know our story against top teams, our score card appear 30/3 after 6 overs.

You mentioned the 2021 World Cup; our score was 31/3 after 6 overs against following a great start from KL (3 runs off 8 balls), Rohit (0 runs off 1 ball), SKY (11 runs off 8 balls), and other players like Jadeja (13 runs off 13 balls) and Pandya (11 runs off 8 balls). The same story against New Zealand, and this time Kohli also failed.

Surya Kumar Yadav the IPL bully: (Failed in all 3 T20 tournaments)
in 2021 T20 WC: Failed in a crucial match against Pakistan. scored some 25 runs against Namibia that was his highest score in that world cup.
in 2022 T20 Asia Cup: Failed in a crucial match against Pakistan. Scored 68 runs against Hongkong that was his highest score in that world cup.
in 2022 T20 World Cup: Again, failed in crucial matches against England and Pakistan. Bullied all small team and his notable score in his entire career is 60 runs against SA.

KL the Mental midget
in 2021 T20 WC: Failed in important matches against Nz and Pak, scored heavily against minnows Namibia and Scottland.
in 2022 T20 Asia Cup: Failed against all top teams.
in 2022 T20 World Cup: Just awful

Ishan Kishan the hack:
Failed in 2021 T20 WC: He played only one match against Nz and scored 4 runs with 50 SR.

Rohit Sharma SR in T20I World Cups:
2014 - 106 (Avg 14.2)
2016 - 111.7 ( Avg 21.5)
2021 - 108.3 (Avg 34)
2022 - 87.2 ( Avg 13.7)


India batsmen in last 4 WT20 world cups against big teams (Aus, NZ, SA, Pak, Eng, SL)
Kohli - 721 runs @ 90.12 /136 sr
Rohit - 274 runs @ 21.07 / 110 sr
Hardik - 140 runs @ 23.2 /118 sr
SKY - 108 runs @ 27 /138 sr
The fact is, Kohli is still much better than many so called T20 players in the last 3 T20 tournaments that we have played.
You need to come up with some stats to back your claims.

 

[FearlessRoar]

I have a gut feeling that Afghanistan will win at least one match against India in this series.

 

[cricketjoshila]

The T20 game has evolved, but we don't have better players who can perform on the big stage. On paper, IPL bullies may look great, but we know our story against top teams, our score card appear 30/3 after 6 overs.

You mentioned the 2021 World Cup; our score was 31/3 after 6 overs against following a great start from KL (3 runs off 8 balls), Rohit (0 runs off 1 ball), SKY (11 runs off 8 balls), and other players like Jadeja (13 runs off 13 balls) and Pandya (11 runs off 8 balls). The same story against New Zealand, and this time Kohli also failed.

Surya Kumar Yadav the IPL bully: (Failed in all 3 T20 tournaments)
in 2021 T20 WC: Failed in a crucial match against Pakistan. scored some 25 runs against Namibia that was his highest score in that world cup.
in 2022 T20 Asia Cup: Failed in a crucial match against Pakistan. Scored 68 runs against Hongkong that was his highest score in that world cup.
in 2022 T20 World Cup: Again, failed in crucial matches against England and Pakistan. Bullied all small team and his notable score in his entire career is 60 runs against SA.

KL the Mental midget
in 2021 T20 WC: Failed in important matches against Nz and Pak, scored heavily against minnows Namibia and Scottland.
in 2022 T20 Asia Cup: Failed against all top teams.
in 2022 T20 World Cup: Just awful

Ishan Kishan the hack:
Failed in 2021 T20 WC: He played only one match against Nz and scored 4 runs with 50 SR.

Rohit Sharma SR in T20I World Cups:
2014 - 106 (Avg 14.2)
2016 - 111.7 ( Avg 21.5)
2021 - 108.3 (Avg 34)
2022 - 87.2 ( Avg 13.7)


India batsmen in last 4 WT20 world cups against big teams (Aus, NZ, SA, Pak, Eng, SL)
Kohli - 721 runs @ 90.12 /136 sr
Rohit - 274 runs @ 21.07 / 110 sr
Hardik - 140 runs @ 23.2 /118 sr
SKY - 108 runs @ 27 /138 sr
The fact is, Kohli is still much better than many so called T20 players in the last 3 T20 tournaments that we have played.
You need to come up with some stats to back your claims.

And PR tactics wanted to keep Rohit in the team and drop Kohli.

 

[MenInG]

The return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to the T20 format after 14 months will be keenly observed when India face a dangerous Afghanistan in the first ever white-ball series between the two teams, beginning here on Thursday. The three-match contest will be India's last before the T20 World Cup in June, giving the team more clarity on where it stands ahead of the ICC event in Americas. However, the final 15 will be picked on the core group's performance in the IPL, which precedes the World Cup.

Rohit and Kohli, now that they are back in the T20 setup, are a certainty in that squad but the accomplished duo would first like to get the most out of the games against Afghanistan, who would be without their star spinner Rashid Khan.

Khan underwent a back surgery in November last year and is still recuperating.

"He is not totally fit. We will miss him in the series. We will struggle without Rashid but one should be ready for any kind of situation," Afghanistan captain Ibrahim Zadran said in the pre-match press conference here, hoping that others in the side would step up.

The focus, however, will firmly be on the two India greats, easily among the biggest crowd-pullers. Their presence on the field would be a big reason for the Mohali crowd to brave the prevailing cold wave.

Rohit, who will also captain the side, will be expected to carry on with his ultra aggressive approach in the powerplay like he showed in the ODI World Cup. Kohli, on the other hand, will look to up his strike rate in the middle overs as the modern game doesn't have room for anchors anymore.

The team, having returned from South Africa last week, will only assemble by Wednesday evening for the series-opener on Thursday evening.

Though the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma remain in the squad after performing top-order duties in in the drawn series against South Africa, Shubman Gill is expected to open the innings alongside Rohit.

Across formats, Gill did not have the easiest of times in the Rainbow nation and will be looking to pile on the runs against Afghanistan with the fringe openers breathing down his neck.

In his toughest test yet in a blossoming T20 career, Rinku Singh proved his worth in the South African conditions and will be a key player for India in the middle-order, especially in the absence of the injured duo of Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya.

With Ishan Kishan interestingly left out, Jitesh Sharma and Sanju Samson are the two wicket-keeping options for the squad.

Having donned the gloves in the previous two series, Jitesh is expected to start ahead of Samson, who finds himself back in the fold after the short series in Ireland last August.

Shivam Dube too is back and can feature in the eleven as a pace bowling all-rounder while three specialist pace options are Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan and Mukesh Kumar.

Kuldeep Yadav will lead the spin attack and other options to choose from are Ravi Bishnoi, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar.

India would be expected to win comfortably in their own conditions but Afghanistan will give them a run for their money.

Having recently exceeded all expectations in their giant-killing run during the ODI World Cup in India, Afghanistan will be high on confidence in a format that suits them the most.

Barring Rashid's injury-forced absence, the team is at full strength after the likes Mujeeb Zadran, Naveen-Ul Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi sorted their contractual issues with the country's cricket board.

Squads: India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar.

Aghanistan: Ibrahim Zadran (captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ikram Alikhil (WK), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen Ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem, Qais Ahmad, Gulbadin Naib and Rashid Khan.

Match starts at 7pm (local time).

NDTV

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Afghans smashed Pakistan in a T20 series not too long ago. Can't take them lightly at all.

 

[Rehmanjan]

Yes the first match is scheduled at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium whereas the 2nd T20 is scheduled at the holker stadium

 

[FearlessRoar]

Indian star set to miss first T20I against Afghanistan

Virat Kohli is set to miss the first T20I against Afghanistan due to personal reasons.

Returning to the T20I squad for the first time since the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, Virat Kohli will not feature in the first match of the series against Afghanistan as confirmed by Rahul Dravid to the media.

Kohli will skip the game due to personal reasons but will be available for the second and third T20I.

Kohli and Rohit Sharma were set to feature in the three-match series as India prepare for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024.

Rohit will lead the side in the T20Is while Afghanistan will be led by Ibrahim Zadran, with Rashid Khan ruled out of the series as he recovers after his ankle surgery.

Speaking to the media ahead of the first T20I in Mohali, Dravid also confirmed that Rohit will be partnered by Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top of the order.

These three T20Is will be the last India play ahead of the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean Islands and USA. The second and third T20Is will be played in Indore and Bengaluru respectively.

Source: ICC

 

[Human786]

absolute cringe the ad being shown by the Broadcaster trying to hype the 3 match series !!!

 

[Vikram1989]

Dravid saying rinku is not yet finalised his spot for wc is pure idiocracy. He was saying Rinku has to captiliaze his opportunities still and prove it.Dravid is becoming more and more illusion .He won't give opportunities to Bishnoi but want to try 3 mediocre fast bowlers in india. West indies is completely became land if slow pitches, he should pull Bishnoi in the team.

 

[MP2011]

So after all the hoopla about Kohli back in T20 squad, Kohli after all misses the game.

Well done. Shows what a sham our selection has become.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Another dead-rubber series TBH. India south africa would have been much more exciting had they chosen to play t20s as well.

 

[AMSS]

Happy to see Kishan and Iyer miss out. They aren't good enough.

Sad to see Kohli and Rohit worm their way back in. Both are proven failures.

Ideally, with Pant fit, our team for T20 WC should look like the following

Shubman
Jaiswal
SKY
KL
Pant
Rinku/Riyan
Hardik
Axar
Kuldeep
Shami
Bumrah

 

[BouncerGuy]

If kohli and Rohit are a failure than what shubman has done to cement his place in this team?

 

[AMSS]

If kohli and Rohit are a failure than what shubman has done to cement his place in this team?

Virat and Rohit are past their best years when they delivered a big fat ZERO.

Shubman is young and, while many may say he has not set the world on fire, he already plays at a higher SR than both the above and should only get better.

At this stage of his career with only a handful of matches under his belt, Shubman doesn't have to show what's done.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Virat and Rohit are past their best years when they delivered a big fat ZERO.

Shubman is young and, while many may say he has not set the world on fire, he already plays at a higher SR than both the above and should only get better.

At this stage of his career with only a handful of matches under his belt, Shubman doesn't have to show what's done.

If Kohli does not make this team then I guess Shubman also does not. He has nothing under his belt to keep his spot up top.

 

[AMSS]

If Kohli does not make this team then I guess Shubman also does not. He has nothing under his belt to keep his spot up top.

What part of Kohli's decade of fruitless T20 career with ZERO trophies in both IPL and internationally is hard to understand? Shubman has played 13 matches so far. How are the two comparable?

 

[BouncerGuy]

What part of Kohli's decade of fruitless T20 career with ZERO trophies in both IPL and internationally is hard to understand? Shubman has played 13 matches so far. How are the two comparable?

I am not talking about any IPL trophies brother. Talk about the recent form bro. Shubman failed in World cup as well while kohli outshined everybody. Shubman failed in recent series as well where kohli rested. What else to compare here. It is not about comparison, it is about recent form.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Happy to see Kishan and Iyer miss out. They aren't good enough.

Sad to see Kohli and Rohit worm their way back in. Both are proven failures.

Ideally, with Pant fit, our team for T20 WC should look like the following

Shubman
Jaiswal
SKY
KL
Pant
Rinku/Riyan
Hardik
Axar
Kuldeep
Shami
Bumrah

Why KL ? His T20 game has declined a bit . Ideally, they should have tried both Rinku, who is strong at #5 , and Riyan at #6 .

 

[Nikhil_cric]

I am not talking about any IPL trophies brother. Talk about the recent form bro. Shubman failed in World cup as well while kohli outshined everybody. Shubman failed in recent series as well where kohli rested. What else to compare here. It is not about comparison, it is about recent form.

These are 2 different formats. What does ODI form mean when looking at T20 skills? Kohli is terrible in the middle overs. In IPL middle overs since 2020, there are at least 7 Indian batsmen who have a higher average and strike rate than Virat. That includes Shubman .

And plenty of others who average slightly less but are much more explosive - a better trade off considering it's T20.

 

[BouncerGuy]

These are 2 different formats. What does ODI form mean when looking at T20 skills? Kohli is terrible in the middle overs. In IPL middle overs since 2020, there are at least 7 Indian batsmen who have a higher average and strike rate than Virat. That includes Shubman .

And plenty of others who average slightly less but are much more explosive - a better trade off considering it's T20.

OK let's see how Shubman performs although Rohit and Jaiswal are set to open in this series I believe?

 

[Nikhil_cric]

OK let's see how Shubman performs although Rohit and Jaiswal are set to open in this series I believe?

I didn't say anything about that. Virat takes a lot of time to hit top gear. One of the slowest and likes to build and then explode at the death. I'm not sure there is a place for anchors like Virat in the modern T20 game.

Especially not someone who has a strike rate of 117 in the middle overs in the last 4 IPL's.

Whether Shubman is better or not is immaterial. Virat can't bat quickly despite opening in the IPL. He'll be under more pressure at #3 in India colours.

Apart from outliers like the Pakistan knock in 2022, he will lose matches more than he will win for India.

 

[FearlessRoar]

𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝟐𝟎𝐈𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟗:

Australia 2-0 vs Australia in 2019
Drawn 1-1 vs South Africa in 2019
India 2-1 vs Bangladesh in 2019
India 2-1 vs West Indiesin 2019
India 2-0 vs Sri Lanka in 2020
India 3-2 vs England in 2021
India 3-0 vs New Zealand in 2021
India 3-0 vs West Indies in 2022
India 3-0 vs Sri Lanka in 2022
Drawn 2-2 vs South Africa in 2022
India 2-1 vs Australia in 2022
India 2-1 vs South Africa in 2022
India 2-1 vs Sri Lanka in 2023
India 2-1 vs New Zealand in 2023
India 4-1 vs Australia in 2023
2-0 vs Afghanistan in 2024 (so far)

Last time, only Australia managed to win a T20I series in India in 2019.

I think West Indies or South Africa can break this winning streak of India in T20I series at home.