Who will open for India in first IND vs AFG T20I along with Abhishek Sharma? Revealed
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The first IND vs AFG T20I series will begin on September 13 at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
The three-match T20I series between India and Afghanistan is all set to begin on September 13. These three games will be played at Arun Jaitley Stadium between September 13 and 17. Shreyas Iyer will be leading India at home for the first time.
Afghanistan have announced a strong squad under the captaincy of Ibrahim Zadran, who has replaced Rashid Khan. India also have most of their players back in the squad. Jasprit Bumrah, Washington Sundar, and Nitish Kumar Reddy are back after injuries.
All three superstars have received the green signal from the medical panel to feature in the game. Meanwhile, Sanju Samson is also back after missing out on the last T20I series in Zimbabwe.
Team India have also retained the 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the squad, while Abhishek Sharma is already in the squad. Now the question is who will open for Men in Blue in the first game?
Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi set to open in 1st T20I against Afghanistan – Reports
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The last couple of months have been tough for Team India under new captain Shreyas Iyer. He lost the series in Ireland and England. Though India recorded a clean sweep in Zimbabwe, but Afghanistan will be a big challenge.
Hence, India will be keen to go with their best possible playing XI. That is where the question arises for the opening slot. Samson is back, but there is no certainity over his place. Samson played two T20Is in England and was dropped for the last three T20Is and didn’t feature in Zimbabwe.
In this duration, Sooryavanshi played six T20Is and scored 193 runs at 32.16 and a strike rate of 189.21 with two half-centuries. He finished the T20I series in Zimbabwe as the leading scorer, winning the Player of the Series award.
Hence, he is likely to get a nod ahead of Samson. A report from a renowned journalist, Vaibhav Bhola, reveals that Sooryavanshi and Abhishek are going to open in the first T20I. That means Samson will have to wait for his chance.
The upcoming series will be important for India. It will also give a chance to the likes of Bumrah, Nitish and Sundar to get some game time after injuries. Hardik Pandya and Harshit Rana (were in the initial squad) are not part of the series due to injuries.
When will the IND vs AFG T20I series start?
The IND vs AFG T20I series will begin on September 13 at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
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