After the ongoing tour of South Africa, India will take on Afghanistan in a T20I series. The IND vs AFG T20I series will witness three matches in January 2024. The India vs Afghanistan T20I series begins with the opening match on January 11 at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. The 2nd and 3rd T20I will take place on January 14 and 17.
Afghanistan has never defeated India in any T20I game. The men in blue crushed them in all 4 T20I games between the two sides in the past. Therefore, Afghanistan will look for their first win against India in the upcoming T20I series.
On the other hand, India will look to maintain their winning record. India could field a young team against Afghanistan like they did in their previous series against South Africa and Australia. Below we talk about India’s planned T20 team for the Afghanistan series.
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India T20 team for Afghanistan series
Openers: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill
For the first matches, India could opt for Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shubman Gill. Gaikwad showed a wonderful performance in the T20I series against Australia in November. He managed 223 runs in 5 games with a century and a fifty to finish as the series’ leading run-getter.
Yashasvi Jaiswal showed a decent performance, scoring 144 runs at a strike rate of 16+. The left-handed batsman scored a fifty in a match. Jaiswal also put up a decent show in the South Africa T20I series, scoring 6 runs in 2 games.
Shubman Gill struggled to score runs in the South Africa series but the management could give him more opportunities against Afghanistan.
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Middle Order Batsmen: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh
Suryakumar Yadav He will be a confirmed member of the Indian team during the T20I series against Afghanistan. He could also lead the team in the absence of Hardik Pandya. The right-handed batsman showed impressive form in both the series against Australia and South Africa.
He scored 156 runs in 2 games against South Africa and 144 runs in 5 games against South Africa. Tilak Varma could be another middle-order batsman. He has played many T20I matches this year.
Rinku Singh will get a place in the team after his stupendous show in the previous series. The left-handed batsman smashed 82 runs in 2 games against South Africa with a strike rate of 167+. Rinku maintained a strike rate of 175+ against the Australians, scoring 105 runs in 4 games.
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Goalkeepers: Jitesh Sharma, Sanju Samson
Ishan Kishan has been away from national duty for some time due to workload. Therefore, Jitesh Sharma and Sanju Samson are two players who could keep the team’s stumps for the series against Afghanistan.
Sharma played 2 matches against Australia in which he scored a quick knock of 24 in a match. Sanju Samson He showed wonderful form in the ODI series against South Africa where he hit his first ODI ton.
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All-rounder: Washington Sundar, Axar Patel
For all-rounders, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel could be picked for the T20I series against Afghanistan. Washington Sundar was also part of the squad for the previous series against Australia and South Africa. Axar Patel He was wonderful in the T20I series against the Aussies, taking 6 scalps in 5 games.
Spinners: Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav
Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav are most likely to be part of India’s T20I squad against Afghanistan. Both showed impressive performances in previous series.
Bishnoi, the right-arm spinner, took 9 wickets in the Australia series to bag the Player of the Series award. Left arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav He took 6 wickets to finish as the leading wicket-taker against South Africa.
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Pacers: Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Deepak Chahar
Three pacers who could be part of the India vs Afghanistan T20I series against Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar and Deepak Chahar. Arshdeep Singh was part of the recent T20I series. He grabbed 4 wickets in 4 games against Australia and 1 wicket in 2 games against the Proteas.
Mukesh Kumar took 3 wickets in 2 games against South Africa and 4 wickets in 4 games against the Australians. Mukesh Kumar He has shown consistent form in the last few series. Deepak Chahar missed the previous T20I series against South Africa due to personal reasons. He was part of the last T20I game against Australia where the right-arm seamer went for 2 wickets.
