BCCI recently announced the squad for the upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan. There were a lot of comebacks and also some surprising inclusions. On that note, here, we predict Team India’s strongest 11 for the Afghanistan T20I series.
Openers: Rohit Sharma (C) and Shubman Gill
Rohit Sharma is the captain of the squad and will open the batting for the side. It will be interesting to see who will be his partner. While Yashasvi Jaiswal has done well, Shubman Gill is a quality cricketer and the management might back him.
Middle-Order: Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh and Sanju Samson (WK)
Virat Kohli will operate at No.3 for this side. He will have to control the middle-overs as there is a lack of experience. Tilak Varma and Rinku Singh will be the left-handers in the middle-overs. While Tilak has to take on the spinners, Rinku’s job will be to finish the game. Sanju Samson might get the nod ahead of Jitesh Sharma because he is a better bet against the faster bowlers at the death.
All-Rounders: Axar Patel
Axar Patel is likely to be the only all-rounder in India’s strongest 11 for the Afghanistan T20I series. Since he is one of the only two all-rounders selected, Axar is sure to play all the games. If he does well with both the bat and the ball, he might be the preferred No.7 ahead of Ravindra Jadeja.
Bowlers: Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Mukesh Kumar and Arshdeep Singh
Kuldeep Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi will form the spin attack in India’s strongest 11 for the Afghanistan T20I series. India is likely to employ two genuine spinners and hence, one of the pacers will have to miss out. Avesh Khan could be the unlucky person as Mukesh and Arshdeep have been good in recent weeks. However, they will be under pressure to perform.
