IND vs AFG: India has announced the squad for the T20I series against Afghanistan & there comes a boon for India as Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma return to the lineup. The series is of utmost importance for India as it is the last T20I series for India before the T20 World Cup 2024. Rohit will lead the T20I squad while Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav, are injured and unavailable for selection.
Notably, Rohit & Kohli haven’t played T20Is since India’s semi-final defeat to England in the T20 World Cup 2024 in November 2022. This is because they wanted to concentrate more on the ODI & Test format with the WTC final & ODI World Cup 2023 in the picture. However the return of both the senior players came after India’s chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar flew to South Africa during the New Year’s Test in Cape Town & involved both the players in India’s plans for T20 World Cup 2024 to be held in West Indies & USA.
Hardik Pandya & Suryakumar Yadav will Miss the Series
It was Hardik Pandya who has led India in T20Is since T20 World Cup 2022 & Suryakumar Yadav stood in as Captain after Hardik injured his ankle during ODI World Cup 2023. Suryakumar led India in a five-match T20I series against Australia at home & three T20Is in South Africa in December but has also been ruled out for a couple of months due to an ankle injury that he suffered during the South Africa tour. However, both Hardik & Suryakumar will return for the IPL in March 2024.
Meanwhile, Ruturaj Gaikwad hasn’t picked up as he continues to nurse a finger injury that he sustained in South Africa in 2023. There is no place for KL Rahul in the 15-member squad while Ishan has opted out citing the need to refocus on his game. Ishan has also missed the Two-match Test series in South Africa for the same reason. On the other hand, Jitesh Sharma who was also a part of the T20I series against Australia & South Africa has been named in the lineup. Samson who had last played in Ireland T20Is in last year August walks in as Sharma’s backup.
Shivam Dube returns after a good show in IPL 2023
Samson registered his maiden ton during the ODI series against South Africa tour in 2023. Mumbai all-rounder, Shivam Dube has also entered the T20I lineup after a gleaming show in IPL 2023 where he was a part of the CSK lineup performing well in the middle overs. Dube was a part of India’s second-string squad that lifted the Asian Games 2023 Gold trophy in Hangzhou in October 2023. He then performed exceptionally in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 trophy and produced some useful cameos for Mumbai batting down the order. His role with the ball, though, was minimal.
Bumrah & Siraj have been rested for the series keeping in mind the workloads ahead of the upcoming five-match Test series against England. Even Shreyas & Jadeja who was vice-captain during the South Africa T20Is are missing from the lineup. Another player who is missing from the squad is Chahar who was a part of South Africa T20Is but didn’t play due to a personal emergency. While the selectors are going with Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, and Mukesh Kumar. Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar and Ravi Bishnoi form the spin attack. Kuldeep who scalped five wickets in the recent T20I series in South Africa shone in the South Africa series by scalping three wickets for UP in the first-round Ranji Trophy fixture against Kerala.
After three T20Is against Afghanistan on January 11, 14, and 17, India hosts England from January 25 to March 11, after which the players will join their respective IPL teams for the 2024 edition of the league. Immediately after IPL 2024, the players will gear up for the T20 World Cup 2024 beginning on June 1.
IND vs AFG: India’s T20I squad for Afghanistan Series
Rohit Sharma (capt), 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
Also read, WTC 2023-2025 Points Table after AUS vs PAK 2nd Test
