Predicting Afghanistan’s Playing XI for their first T20I against India

The Afghans have emerged as a force to reckon with in the last few months. They surpassed everyone’s expectations in the 2023 ODI World Cup and now they will be looking to go one step ahead in the T20 World Cup. Afghanistan are set to evaluate their preparations in the 3-match T20I series against India. In this article, we will take a look at their probable starting lineup in the first match of the T20I series. 

Top Order

Rahmanullah Gurbaz will be an undisputed choice as an opener and the left-hander Hazratullah Zazai will be partnering him in opening the innings. The duo did well in the last T20I series that Afghanistan played, against UAE. 

The young skipper Ibrahim Zadran will be taking up the No.3 position and his contribution will be crucial for the team as this is going to be a much tougher series. 

Middle Order

Najibullah Zadran is the most likely option to bat at No.4 as the experienced left-hander will bind the batting order with his calculative approach. Azmatullah Omarzai, the all-rounder will also feature in the middle order along with a couple of other all-rounders, Mohammad Nabi and Sharafuddin Ashraf. Afghanistan is generally considered to be a top-heavy side which makes it even more important for the middle order to step up and break this notion. 

Bowling Unit

Afghanistan’s bowling is one of their strong aspects and the Indian team will be wary of this challenge. Naveen Ul Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, and Sharafuddin Ashraf will be forming the pace battery. Their recent form has been encouraging but containing the star-studded Indian batting will be a different challenge altogether. 

In an unfortunate turn of events, Rashid Khan has been ruled out of the series and now there will be much more responsibility on the other spinners. The two wrist spinners Noor Ahmad and Qais Ahmad will be looking to compensate for Rashid’s absence. 

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