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Fans successful India person been bingeing connected T20 cricket this year, starting with the men’s World Cup, followed by much than 2 months of IPL. A fewer days aft the T20 league, determination was the one-off Test against Afghanistan. After witnessing cricket astatine some extremes of the sport’s format spectrum, absorption present shifts to the mediate crushed erstwhile the Men successful Blue instrumentality connected the Afghans successful a three-match ODI bid starting present astatine the picturesque HPCA Stadium connected Saturday (June 12, 2026).
Nowadays, determination is heightened buzz whenever India plays one-dayers, considering 2 of the country’s biggest stars, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, proceed to don the nationalist colours lone successful this format.
Unfortunately, Kohli volition miss this duty owed to a hamstring wounded helium sustained during the IPL final. Fans, though, tin inactive bask erstwhile skipper Rohit, who precocious cleared a fittingness test. And it is an facet of the opener’s crippled that the decision-makers volition keenly ticker arsenic they illustration retired their preparations for the 2027 World Cup.
Rohit had a thin IPL successful which helium missed 5 games owed to wounded and needs to marque afloat usage of these outings to regain form. Rohit astatine 39 years and 44 days volition go the oldest antheral to play for the state successful ODIs and is owed for a large sound aft a below-par effort against New Zealand earlier successful the year.
On the squad operation front, though Yashasvi Jaiswal has replaced Kohli, the broadside has a readymade one-drop batter successful Ishan Kishan, who has been recalled aft much than 2 years. K.L. Rahul is different enactment astatine No. 3.
The big volition besides privation to spot what promising pacers Prince Yadav and Gurnoor Brar, on with spin-bowling all-rounder Harsh Dubey, tin offer.
While connected insubstantial the Shubman Gill-led outfit starts arsenic favourite, the visitant won’t beryllium a pushover. Afghanistan has won its erstwhile 5 bilateral ODI series, beating teams specified arsenic South Africa, Ireland, Zimbabwe, and Bangladesh (twice). Hashmatullah Shahidi’s squad has bully extent crossed departments. Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan bring invaluable acquisition to a line-up that besides boasts breathtaking young talents.
Since the archetypal gathering betwixt the 2 sides successful 2010, Afghanistan person not defeated India successful immoderate of the 3 versions. However, this bid offers the upstart — which has beaten each different full-member broadside successful planetary cricket — a accidental to alteration that. And they lone request to look astatine their ain A team, which upstaged India-A successful Sri Lanka successful a one-day crippled connected Thursday, for inspiration. Can the elder squad travel suit?
The teams (from): India: Shubman Gill (Capt.), Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer (Vice-capt.), Yashasvi Jaiswal, K.L. Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Nitish Kumar, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, and Harsh Dubey.
Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (Capt.), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharotai, Allah Ghazanfar, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi, Fareed Malik, and Bilal Sami.
Match starts astatine 1.30 p.m.
