The Indian squad for the Afghanistan T20Is saw the return of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma after a 13-month break. The duo hasn’t played the shortest format since India were knocked out of the T20 World Cup 2022 after losing to England by 10 wickets in the semi-finals. But despite the return, Kohli will miss out on the first game on Thursday, slated to be held at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium in Mohali.
Head coach Rahul Dravid has confirmed that Kohli will not play the first T20I against Afghanistan as the former Indian skipper hasn’t travelled with the team owing to personal reasons. The Indian head coach also added that captain Rohit Sharma hasn’t landed in Mohali yet and thus, missed the training session on the eve of the series opener.
Speaking about the combinations, Dravid said the likes of Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal will open the innings when India take on Afghanistan. A selection conundrum was expected as the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli returned into the T20I squad after a break of 13 months. However, the Indian head coach made it clear by announcing the opening combination for the series opener on January 11.
Addressing a pre-match press conference on Wednesday evening, the Indian head coach said Jaiswal has done well opening the innings for India.
“As of now we’ll be certainly be opening with Rohit and Jaiswal,” Dravid told the media ahead of the first T20I match against Afghanistan.
“But when you have a squad and a team, you need to have the flexibility to do whatever’s required if that is in the best interest of the team and that gives us the best chance to succeed. So nothing is closed but certainly we are really happy with what Jaiswal has done as an opener for us and given us a left-right combination as well at the top,” added Rahul.
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