Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team are playing wearing the black armbands in the T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 clash against Afghanistan in memory of former India fast bowler David Johnson who passed away on June 20, Thursday. Johnson died from falling from the 4th floor of SLV Paradise apartment, in Bengaluru, on Thursday. He passed away at the age of 52.
At this point of time, India captain Rohit Sharma has won the toss and opted to bat first against Rashid Khan-led Afghanistan. Men in Blue have changed the playing XI, Kuldeep Yadav comes in the place of Mohammad Siraj.
Who was David Johnson
David Jhonson was born on October 16, 1971. He had a really short stint as an International Indian cricketer and was known for his fast bowling. He represented the Indian cricket team in two Test matches back in the year 1996. He made his debut against Australia. Despite his great start to his career and nice pace, he could not get many opportunities at the international level as he struggled with his consistency and injuries
What did the captains say?
After winning the toss India skipper Rohit Sharma said:
“We are going to bat first. Looks alright at this moment, looks a good track. No grass on the pitch, I guess it will get slower. It's better than New York. We have to adapt to the conditions quickly. We have been here for a couple of days, we have played a lot of cricket. It's about understanding what we need to do in conditions like these. It's an early start. Usually start in the evening elsewhere. We enjoy playing here. We have made one change, Kuldeep comes in for Siraj.”
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Meanwhile, Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan, after the toss, said:
“We would have liked to bat first. It's more about how you play the game in T20s. Happy with our preparations and how things have gone. We are facing good teams, need to control our emotions and play our natural game. It does help getting used to the conditions. We have to play good cricket. We have one change, Karim Janat is not playing, Zazai comes in.”
India's Playing XI:
Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah
Afghanistan's Playing XI:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Najibullah Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan(c), Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi
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