Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma throughout a web apply session forward of the T20 Match in opposition to Afghanistan at PCA Ground in Mohali on Wednesday, January 10, 2024.
| Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy
India’s final collection within the shortest format earlier than the T20 World Cup in June presents hope for some aspirants, alternatives for the regulars and the determined.
The three-match collection in opposition to Afghanistan beginning at PCA Stadium right here on Thursday will even witness how an inexperienced Indian tempo trio offers with the free-stroking Afghans.
With Virat Kohli lacking the opening match citing private causes, skipper Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Kuldeep Yadav are the one regulars within the squad.
Prominent absentees
The notable absentees are Ok. L. Rahul, the injured duo of Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav, a neglected Shreyas Iyer, tempo spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammad Siraj.
Most of those absentees ought to return for the World Cup. Assuming that Rinku Singh has finished sufficient to advantage a spot within the World Cup squad, it will likely be fascinating to see how aspirants like Yashaswi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Sanju Samson, fellow-wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar and Ravi Bishnoi might make the lower.
Of the lot, Samson will likely be below super stress to justify his presence within the staff. Since his debut in July 2015, in 21 batting alternatives in 24 outings, Samson has scored simply 374 runs with a mean of 19.68 in opposition to oppositions like Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland and West Indies.
Despite 15 innings – out of 21 – ending with sub-20 scores, Samson ought to think about himself fortunate to be chosen forward of an unavailable Ishan Kishan. With the selectors eager on seeing extra of Samson, Jitesh Sharma can hope to get a glance in a lifeless rubber.
It is an effective alternative for Washington Sundar and Axar Patel to stake their declare for a World Cup spot as spin-options behind the common selections. Pacers Arshdeep, Avesh and Mukesh will look to take advantage of the situations right here.
The Afghans, even with out Rashid Khan who remains to be not match-fit, are clearly sensing an opportunity in opposition to this Indian mixture. The confidence of getting finished effectively on Indian pitches within the current World Cup has a lot to do with this optimism. Top-order batters Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, skipper Ibrahim Zadran and all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai have the skill-sets to ambush the host. Bowlers Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb-ur-Rahman are all effectively accustomed to the Indian situations.
After all, prior to now decade, Dehradun and Greater Noida have proved Afghanistan’s coaching grounds with the BCCI doing its bit to advertise cricket in what was as soon as a war-torn nation. At current, Afghanistan has a staff that wears the label of being unpredictable, like no different.
The groups (from):
India: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan and Mukesh Kumar.
Afghanistan: Ibrahim Zadran (Captain), Hazrratullah Zazai, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Najibullah Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Rahmat Shah, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Fareed Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mohammad Saleem, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Noor Ahmad and Qais Ahmad.
Match begins at 7 p.m.
Source: www.thehindu.com
