Indian team’s star batsman Virat Kohli will not play the first IND vs AFG T20 match of the three-match T20 series. This was confirmed by head coach Rahul Dravid during the press conference on the eve of the first match. Rahul Dravid told the press that Virat Kohli will not be available for selection in the first match due to personal reasons. Dravid has also spoken about the opening pair. Virat Kohli will play in the second and third T20 matches.
Rahul Dravid said in the press conference, “Virat Kohli will not be able to play the first T20 match due to personal reasons. Rohit and Jaiswal will open the innings tomorrow.” Rohit’s chances of leading India in the T20 World Cup have increased considerably after getting the responsibility of captaincy for this series. Which is a big blow to Hardik’s captaincy ambitions in global competition. The T20 team also includes Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma as wicketkeepers while Ishan Kishan has been overlooked because he kept himself unavailable for selection.
The National Men’s Selection Committee on Sunday announced a 16-member squad led by Rohit for the series beginning January 11 in Mohali. Rohit and Kohli played their last match for India in this format in November 2022 in the World Cup semi-final against England. The Indian team will play the first match against Afghanistan in Mohali on January 11. The second and third matches of the series will be played in Indore and Bengaluru respectively.
Test team regulars Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja have been rested and Ruturaj Gaikwad is not fit to play. In Hardik’s absence, all-rounder Shivam Dube has also been named in the squad.
Team India Squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar.
Also Read – 5 Amazing Records will be Virat Kohli’s Target in the Year 2024
