The first bilateral ODI series between India and Afghanistan begins in Dharamshala from Saturday. In the absence of senior players, India will test its bench strength and new fast bowlers for the 2027 World Cup. Afghanistan is also ready to give a tough fight.
Hospice: The bilateral ODI series between India and Afghanistan is starting from Saturday. The first match of the series will be played at the beautiful HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala. The Indian team, which lost the series against New Zealand, has lost 3 of its last 5 ODIs. Now Team India will try to achieve the right team combination and rhythm for the 2027 World Cup through this series.
Many senior players are not playing in this series, so India has a good opportunity to test its bench strength. Despite the absence of Virat Kohli, the team’s batting looks strong, but new faces will be tested in fast bowling.
Famous fast bowlers, Krishna and Arshdeep Singh have together played only 38 ODI matches so far. Whereas, Prince Yadav and Gurnoor Brar are yet to make their debut. The next World Cup is to be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, so India is focusing on building a strong fast bowling unit.
Will Kishan play at number 3?
Rohit Sharma is fit and will open the innings with captain Shubman Gill. Ishan Kishan may get a chance at number 3 in place of Kohli. Either Prince Yadav or Gurnoor Brar may get a chance to debut in ODIs.
Afghanistan, on the other hand, have won their last 4 ODI matches. However, the team played its last 50-over match in October 2025. In such a situation, it may take some time for him to adjust to this format. Despite this, the Afghan team has the potential to give a tough competition to India.
India’s probable playing XI for the first ODI
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (captain), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Prasidh Krishna.
Match start time: 1:30 pm
Live Telecast: Star Sports/Jio Hotstar