IND vs AFG T20Is: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the 16-member Indian squad for the upcoming 3-match T20I series against Afghanistan on Sunday, January 7. The selection saw the return of two veteran batters for India- Rohit Sharma as captain and Virat Kohli making his comeback in the T20I side after a 14-month hiatus.
Jitesh Sharma and Sanju Samson have been included as the two wicketkeeping choices in India's final T20I series before the 2024 World Cup. Jitesh has played seven T20Is for India, scoring just 69 runs with an average of 13.8. The wicketkeeper’s highest score of his career came against Australia in Raipur when he scored a quick-fire 35 runs.
Samson, on the other hand, is an experienced campaigner, having played 24 T20Is for India and scored 374 runs with a humble average of 19.68. He has only one fifty to his name.
ALSO READ: 'New Challenge Awaits': South Africa Wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen Announces Test Retirement At 32
The team management will have a hard time choosing between the youngster and the experienced campaigner. Samson last played against Ireland in August 2023, where he scored 26 runs. But the Kerala batter was dropped for the Australia and South Africa T20I series. Jitesh managed only five runs in the two innings he played which might have helped Samson’s cause to make a return to the team.
Recommended For You
Samson’s ODI century in Paarl might make the selectors pick him over Jitesh in the upcoming T20I series. Other than that, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, and Mukesh Kumar constitute the three pacers in the squad, accompanied by four spin options - Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav.
The battle of the spin to make a place in the playing XI will be between the two leg spinners, Bishnoi and Kuldeep. Bishnoi was the pick of bowlers in the T20I series against Australia, taking nine wickets in five matches. After going for over 52 runs in Visakhapatnam, the leg spinner came back strong in the latter matches, conceding only 110 runs with an economy of 6.875.
While Kuldeep was on fire in the two T20Is he played against South Africa last month, picking up six wickets in two matches with a rare five-fer. On the seam-assisted pitch in Johannesburg, Kuldeep produced the best spell of his life. It is expected that he’ll make the final 11 over Bishnoi.
Aside from the recovering duo of Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav, several key players, including Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj, have been omitted from the series.
The three-match series is scheduled to commence on January 11 in Mohali.
India's Probable 11 for Afghanistan T20Is: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (wk), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan
India’s squad for Afghanistan T20Is: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar.