IND vs AFG 1st T20I Probable Playing 11s: Who Will Replace Virat Kohli In Lineup? Shubman Gill Or Sanju Samson

IND vs AFG 1st T20I: Virat Kohli asked for a break for the 1st T20I while Ishan Kishan had also made himself unavailable for the series.

India vs AFG 1st t20I today. (Image: ANI)

India will play Afghanistan in the 1st T20I today at Mohali's PCA stadium. This is the first match of the three-game series as India and Afghanistan aim to zero in on their final 15 for the T20 World Cup 2024 which is to be played in West Indies and USA in June this year. Afghanistan have already received a big blow with Rashid Khan ruled out of the T20I series. The star legspinner is currently in recovery after undergoing lower-back surgery. Although he is travelling with the team but will not take part in the series vs India. 

On the other hand, star Inda batter Virat Kohli will also be missing in the 1st T20I at least due to personal reasons. India head coach Rahul Dravid had annouced a day before the game. While what that personal reason is, is unknown but it is also true that Janaury 11 is the birthday of his daughter Vamika.

Kohli and Rohit Sharma returned to the T20 fold after a gap of more than a year. They were last seen in  a T20 match for India in the World Cup semifinals in 2022. Rohit also returns as the captain which means he will be leading the team at the T20 World Cup 2024 as well although no formal reaction of this sort has been made by the BCCI. 

What do you all make of this power-packed T20I squad set to face Afghanistan? _#TeamIndia | #INDvAFG | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/pY2cUPdpHy — BCCI (@BCCI) January 7, 2024

India will be opening with Rohit and left-handed batter Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dravid said in the pre-match press conference. In all likelihood, Shubman Gill will be batting at No 3 spot for India, the place where Kohli bats. Sanju Samson should be the preferred wicketkeeper and batter and will bat somewhere in the middle order.

"As of now, we will be certainly opening with Rohit and Jaiswal. But when you have a squad, you have to have that flexibility to do whatever is required if that is in the best interest of the team and gives us the best chance to succeed.So nothing is closed. But certainly, we're really happy with what Jaiswal has done as an opener for us, and he gives us a left-right combination as well at the top," said Dravid. 

It will be interesting to see how Tilak Varma and Rinku Singh go in the series, both of whom are expected to feature in the playing 11 for the 1st T20I. Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh and Mukesh Kumar should make the pace-bowling unit while either of Kuldeep Yadav or Ravi Bishnoi could be picked as the lone wrist spinner.

India Vs Afghanistan 1st T20I: Probable Playing 11s

India Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (wk), Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Kuldeep Yadav/Ravi Bishnoi, Mukesh Kumar

Afghanistan Probable XI: Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran (C), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Qais Ahmad, Noor Ahmad/Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi