Team India will face Afghanistan in the 3-match T20I series starting from 11th January onwards. It promises to be an exciting series as men in blue will be playing their final T20I series before the T20 World Cup that will take place in the USA and West Indies in June this year.
India and Afghanistan will be playing their first-ever bilateral T20I series. The second match will be played in Indore on the 14th and the final match will take place in Bengaluru on the 17th.
3 things to look forward to in the T20I series between India and Afghanistan:
- Return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the T20I format
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be returning to the Indian squad in T20I format since the World T20 2022 semi-finals against England at Adelaide Oval. Both players had a sensational home World Cup as both finished as the top two leading run scorers.
With the T20I World Cup slated to take place in June this year, the form of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be seen during the series against Afghanistan.
- Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh to lead bowling department
The trio of Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar and Avesh Khan would lead the bowling department for the T20I series against Afghanistan. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami have been rested for this series. Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah did a lot of bowling in the 2 test match series against South Africa.
Both of them have been given rest while Mohammed Shami is still nursing from the injury as he did not take part in the South Africa series. Jasprit Bumrah could be included in the squad having a great IPL 2024 season. Siraj and Shami struggled badly as they last played during the T20 World Cup 2022 semi-finals against England at Adelaide Oval.
This series provides a chance for the likes of Mukesh Kumar, Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan to put on performances and cement their places in the T20 World Cup squad.
- Wicketkeeper choice
KL Rahul has been dropped from the T20I squad for the series against Afghanistan. Jitesh Sharma and Sanju Samson will be the wicketkeepers.
The question remains who will India prefer in the first T20I match at Mohali? Jitesh Sharma has proven his worth and can take down the bowlers right from word go and put pressure on the bowlers while Sanju Samson also can keep momentum going hitting sixes and boundaries with ease.
It will remain to see the wicketkeeping abilities also between Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma in this series against Afghanistan.
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