IND vs AFG: India's strongest playing XI vs Afghanistan for ODIs - Predicted

India and Afghanistan are scheduled to play three ODIs from June 13 to 20.

After their biggest-ever test victory against Afghanistan, India are set to take on their Asian rivals in an ODI series. The IND vs AFG ODI series comprises three games.

India have never lost an ODI against Afghanistan. Out of four games between both sides, the Men in Blue won three, while one ended in a tie. Therefore, while India will aim to keep their winning record alive in the upcoming series, Afghanistan look forward to their first-ever victory against the former.

Shubman Gill will lead India in the series. BCCI have named a strong squad for the tournament; however, Afghanistan can shock India. Hence, India will need to place their best playing XI in the series. Below, let’s discuss India’s strongest playing 11 for AFG ODI.

India’s predicted playing XI for the ODIs against Afghanistan

Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma is highly expected to open the batting for India and will make his comeback to the national team. He struggled in the previous ODI series against New Zealand in January, scoring just 61 runs in three games with a highest score of 26.

He will aim for a comeback in the upcoming campaign. The right-handed batsman is the leading run-scorer for India against Afghanistan in ODIs with 150 runs.

Shubman Gill (C)

Shubman Gill will captain India in the ODI series and will look forward to carrying his fabulous form. The right-handed batter recently finished as the second-highest run-scorer in IPL 2026. In the previous ODI series, he rocked with his batting against New Zealand by hitting two fifties across three games.

Ishan Kishan

Since the start of this year, Ishan Kishan has made his stunning comeback to the national team. He returned to the T20Is earlier this year and is set to play in ODIs after almost three years, having last played in 2023. In Virat Kohli’s absence, he is the best choice at No. 3.

Shreyas Iyer (VC)

Shreyas Iyer has been named as the new T20I captain, but ahead of his first assignment against Ireland, he will take the field in the AFG series. After scoring just 60 runs in three games in the last ODI series, Iyer will aim for a big comeback.

KL Rahul (WK)

KL Rahul is the primary wicket-keeper choice for India in the 50-over format and will be part of the middle-order. Rahul scored a ton in the previous ODI series against Black Caps and also hammered a century in IPL 2026.

Washington Sundar

The spin all-rounder is back in the 50-over format after missing a few games in the previous series. Washington Sundar was part of the New Zealand ODI series but was ruled out after sustaining an injury in the first game.

Nitish Kumar Reddy

Nitish Kumar Reddy scored a half-century in the last ODI series and is highly likely to retain his spot in the playing XI. This will be his first-ever campaign against Afghanistan.

Harsh Dubey

All-rounder Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of the ODI series against Afghanistan due to a quadriceps injury. India have not named any replacement for him in the squad so far. Hence, Harsh Dubey is highly likely to make his debut in the IND vs AFG ODI series.

Since the series will take place in India, the Men in Blue will go ahead with more spin all-rounders in the playing XI. Dubey is a left-arm orthodox spinner and left-handed batsman.

He is an uncapped player with a brilliant record in the domestic circuit. In List A cricket, he has featured in 30 games for Vidarbha, scoring 296 runs at an average of 26.90 and two half-centuries.

Prasidh Krishna

In the absence of key pacers like Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna will lead India’s pace attack in the series. He has impressed with his performance recently. He played in India’s last ODI series, picking 2 wickets in two games.

Arshdeep Singh

Pacer Arshdeep Singh has been retained in the ODI series against Afghanistan as well. The left-handed pacer played one game in the previous ODI series. Being a left-armer, he will provide more depth to India’s pace attack

Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav is India’s frontline spinner in the white-ball format and will lead the spin attack. He has struggled since the start of this year, but will aim for a brilliant show in the upcoming campaign.

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