India T20 Squad For Afghanistan Series

After the ongoing South Africa tour, India will face Afghanistan in a T20I series. IND vs AFG T20I series will witness three encounters in January 2024. The India vs Afghanistan T20I series begins with the opening game on January 11 at IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. The 2nd and 3rd T20I will take place on January 14 and 17.

Afghanistan has never defeated India in any T20I game. The men-in-blue crushed them in all 4 T20I games between both sides in the past. Hence, Afghanistan will eye for their first-ever victory against India in the forthcoming T20I series.

On the other hand hand, India will look to keep up their winning record. India might place a young squad against Afghanistan like they did in their previous series against South Africa and Australia. Below we talk about India’s predicted T20 squad for the Afghanistan series.

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India T20 Squad For Afghanistan Series

Openers- Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill

For the openers, India might opt for Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Shubman Gill. Gaikwad showed a marvelous performance in the T20I series against Australia in November. He slammed 223 runs across 5 games with a century and fifty to finish as the leading run-getter in the series.

Yashasvi Jaiswal showed a decent performance, hitting 144 runs across a strike rate of 16.+. The left-handed batsman smacked a fifty in one match. Jaiswal also gave a decent show in the South Africa T20I series, hitting 6 runs across 2 games.

Shubman Gill struggled to score runs in the South Africa series but the management might provide him more opportunities against Afghanistan.

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Middle-Order Batters- Suryakumar Yadav (C), Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh

Suryakumar Yadav will be a confirmed member of Team India during the T20I series against Afghanistan. He might also lead the side in the absence of Hardik Pandya. The right-handed batsman showed stunning form in both series against Australia and South Africa.

He slammed 156 runs in 2 games against South Africa and 144 runs in 5 games against South Africa. Tilak Varma might be another middle-order batsman. He has played many T20I games this year.

Rinku Singh will bag a place in the squad after his stupendous show in the previous series. The left-handed batsman shattered 82 runs in 2 games against South Africa at 167+ strike rate. Rinku held a strike rate of 175+ against the Aussies, hitting 105 runs across 4 games.

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Wicketkeepers- Jitesh Sharma, Sanju Samson

Ishan Kishan has sidelined himself from national duty for some time due to workload. Hence, Jitesh Sharma and Sanju Samson are two players who might keep the stumps for the team for the series against Afghanistan.

Sharma played 2 games against Australia in which he scored a quickfire knock of 24 in one match. Sanju Samson showed a wonderful form in the ODI series against South Africa, where he slammed his first ODI ton.

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All-Rounders- Washington Sundar, Axar Patel

For all-rounders, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel might be picked for the T20I series against Afghanistan. Washington Sundar was also part of the squad for the previous series against Australia and South Africa. Axar Patel was wonderful in the T20I series against Aussies, hunting 6 scalps across 5 games.

Spinners- Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav

Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav are highly likely to be part of India’s T20I squad against Afghanistan. Both of them showed stunning performances in previous series.

Right-arm spinner Bishnoi hunted 9 wickets in the Australia series to grab the Player of the Series award. Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav clinched 6 wickets to end as the leading wicket-taker against South Africa.

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Pacers- Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Deepak Chahar

Three pacers who might be part of India vs Afghanistan T20I series against Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, and Deepak Chahar. Arshdeep Singh was part of the recent T20I series. He grabbed 4 wickets in 4 games against Australia and 1 wicket in 2 games against the Proteas.

Mukesh Kumar hunted 3 wickets in 2 games against South Africa and 4 wickets in 4 games against Aussies. Mukesh Kumar has shown a consistent form in the last few series. Deepak Chahar missed the previous T20I series against South Africa for personal reasons. He was part of the final T20I game against Australia, where the right-arm seamer hunted 2 wickets.