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India skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to field first at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali in the series opener against Ibrahim Zadran-led Afghanistan. Shubman Gill will open the innings alongside Rohit in the absence of Yashasvi Jaiswal. The left-handed opener was unavailable for selection due to a sore right groin, as per a statement from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Also, Jitesh Sharma was chosen over Sanju Samson as the wicketkeeper-batter in the side. Kuldeep Yadav did not find a place either as Ravi Bishnoi was preferred over him. India included two spin all-rounders in the form of Axar Patel and Washington Sundar. Shivam Dube got a chance as well in the middle order in the absence of Virat Kohli as Tilak Varma will bat at no.3.
“We will bowl first. No particular reason, the pitch is good and it doesn't change a lot here. A lot to gain from the 3 games, we haven't had too much T20 cricket leading to the World Cup, there's IPL, but this is an international game and we'll try to achieve a few things. I had a chat with Rahul bhai regarding the combination going forward and what we need to do as a group. That's what we'll try to do, but winning is the most important thing. Sanju Samson, Avesh, Yashashvi (who didn't pull off well) miss out,” Rohit said at the coin toss.
On the other hand, Afghanistan went with just one speciallist spinner in the form of Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
We wanted to bowl first as well, but it's not a big problem, we'll try and execute our plans. This is massive opportunity to get experience ahead of the T20 World Cup. We'll try and play some positive cricket. Noor Ahamad, Sharafuddin, Saleem Saifi aren't playing, forgot the rest of the guys.
India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar
Afghanistan Playing XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran (c), Rahmat Shah, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
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