Harshit Rana, Shubman Gill & Ishan Kishan (Source: AFP Photos)
India and Afghanistan will play for the one last time on Saturday (June 20) in the third and final ODI of the series at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. The Men in Blue, riding on Shubman Gill’s astute leadership, won the ODI series with a match to spare, courtesy of winning back-to-back wins in the first two outings.
The BCCI on Friday added Harshit Rana to India’s squad for Afghanistan ODIs. Given that India have already won the series and the squads for India tour of England 2026 are pending, Harshit, for sure, will play the third ODI between India and Afghanistan.
With Harshit returning to the mix, we take a look at India's predicted playing XI vs Afghanistan for the third ODI.
India playing XI Vs Afghanistan, 3rd ODI 2026
Openers & No. 3 - Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill
Even though Yashasvi Jaiswal could only make 4 off 9 balls in the last ODI against Afghanistan, it would be harsh to leave him out of India playing XI Vs Afghanistan for the third ODI after just one failure. Let's not forget the fact that he did not feature in the first ODI either.
To make room for Jaiswal, Shubman Gill came to bat at No. 3, keeping Rohit Sharma – the legend of the game – at his preferred opening position.
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To make room for Jaiswal, Shubman Gill came to bat at No. 3, keeping Rohit Sharma – the legend of the game – at his preferred opening position. While Gill has been in exceptional form, having scored 84* and a monumental 154, respectively, Rohit is yet to live up to his lofty expectations in this series.
Nevertheless, until and unless there is injury woes, both Rohit and Gill will play in the third ODI as they did in their last outing.
Middle Order & All-Rounders - Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana
Ishan Kishan’s place in India playing XI Vs Afghanistan for the third ODI became a topic of discussion with Harshit Rana’s return. Even though Kishan has been in supreme touch, having made 34 and a stupendous 79-ball 125, respectively, Gill admitted they were forced to have only five bowlers due to Nitish Kumar Reddy’s injury.
Now, if Nitish is not fit for IND vs AFG 3rd ODI, Kishan will surely play, as they don’t have any other designated batter in the squad. Otherwise, if Nitish is available, Kishan will only be benched to manage his workload.
Shreyas Iyer, meanwhile, might be demoted to No. 5 once again, followed by KL Rahul. They will have Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana as bowling all-rounders, bringing more depth to the squad in terms of batting.
Bowlers - Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav
After being benched in the first ODI, Kuldeep Yadav did not get a wicket in the second ODI. However, he did not concede many runs either, giving up just 42 runs off 10 overs.
After being benched in the first ODI, Kuldeep Yadav did not get a wicket in the second ODI. However, he did not concede many runs either, giving up just 42 runs off 10 overs.
Yet, Kuldeep, in all likelihood keeping Chennai's pitch in mind, will keep his place in India playing XI Vs Afghanistan in the third ODI, along with Arshdeep Singh and Gurnoor Brar.
However, there is an outside chance to keep Prince Yadav as well, who made his debut in Lucknow. The only reason behind keeping Arshdeep in India’s pace attack would possibly be because he is senior to the others.
India's Predicted Playing XI Vs Afghanistan, 3rd ODI- 2026
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (C), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav
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