Suspense Ends Over Sanju Samson's Participation As Shreyas Iyer Opt To Bowl vs Afghanistan In 1st T20I: Check Playing XIs

India captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bowl first against Afghanistan in the opening T20I at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. Iyer explained that the conditions in Delhi generally favour the team bowling first, prompting India to chase under the lights.

Afghanistan captain Ibrahim Zadran said his team would also have preferred to bowl first but will now focus on putting up a strong total on the board.

The Afghan side will look to make the most of their opportunity to bat first and put pressure on India's strong batting line-up.

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Shreyas Iyer Explains Decision To Bowl First

After winning the toss, Iyer revealed that India were always inclined towards bowling first in Delhi.

“We are going to bowl first. Whenever you come to Delhi, you know what the pitch has got to offer, it usually is a bowl first wicket.”

The Indian captain also reflected on the positives from the team's recent tour of Zimbabwe and said the side would look to carry that momentum into the Afghanistan series.

“We had a lot of positives in Zimbabwe, we will try and continue on that.”

Iyer also highlighted the importance of Jasprit Bumrah to India's campaign, describing the pace spearhead as a proven match-winner.

“We know Bumrah is a match winner.”

However, India will be without several players for the opening encounter. Iyer confirmed that Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Washington Sundar are not playing, along with two other changes.

Ibrahim Zadran Ready For Challenge

Afghanistan captain Ibrahim Zadran admitted that his team would also have chosen to bowl first had they won the toss. However, he said the focus has now shifted towards batting and building a competitive total.

“We would have bowled first too. So we will think about batting and look to put up a good total.”

Zadran also spoke about the excitement of hosting India for the series in India and expressed his gratitude for the support surrounding the Afghan team.

“It is a great feeling to host India in India. We are trying to have a good series against them.”

He also revealed that Naveen-ul-Haq is not part of the playing XI for the opening game, but suggested the pacer could feature in the later matches.

“Naveen is not playing, we will think about him in the next games.”

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India Playing XI

Sanju Samson (w), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy.

Afghanistan Playing XI

Ibrahim Zadran(c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi