Afghanistan Team - (Source: AFP)
After a rain-reduced fixture in 1st ODI at the Dharamshala Stadium, the caravan now moves to Lucknow, where the Ekana Stadium will host the 2nd ODI between India and Afghanistan. The Men in Blue are leading the series 1-0, and a win in Lucknow will seal the series.
Talking about the 1st ODI, the match was reduced to 25 overs, where Afghanistan, batting first, rode on Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s century. The right-handed batter slammed the fastest ton for the Afghans, but it was still not enough for his side to win against India.
India also rode high on Shubman Gill’s fifty and won the match by seven wickets. Nonetheless, the focus has now completely shifted to the 2nd ODI.
Afghanistan vs India Preview
For India, they are likely to go ahead with the same playing XI. Why fix something that ain’t broken? Hence, the Shubman Gill-led side won’t make any changes.
Afghanistan, on the other hand, need to make changes to their playing XI. They had Mohammad Nabi in their XI and now have a big call to take ahead of them. Hence, this article will shed light on Afghanistan’s predicted playing XI vs India for the 2nd ODI.
Afghanistan Likely Playing XI vs India- 2nd ODI
Openers and Top Order (Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Sediquallah Atal)
Rahmanullah Gurbaz will stay there as he slammed a 48-ball century, which is the fastest in the history of Afghanistan. Further, Ibrahim Zadran will open the innings alongside him. The right-handed batter failed to get going in the 1st ODI, where he scored just 1 (4).
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The biggest shock was to see Sediquallah Atal registering a duck. However, he will be given another chance in the 2nd ODI to prove his mettle. Notably, Afghanistan will not make any changes to their top order because the 1st ODI nearly turned into a T20I match, which would be fair to judge someone on.
Middle Order and All Rounders (Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi)
In the middle-order, Rahmat Shah, who had a great Test series against India, will continue to bat at No. 4. Rest, skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi will bat at No.5. Afghanistan’s middle-order was shambolic against India in the 1st ODI, where they scored just 65 runs combined.
Rest, Azmatullah Omarzai and Mohammad Nabi will continue to play in the middle-order as they will also contribute with the ball.
Bowlers (Rashid Khan, Allah Ghazanfar, Zaiur Rahman, Mohammad Saleem)
Rashid Khan picked up a wicket in the 1st ODI and will continue to play. Rest, Allah Ghazanfar didn’t pick up a wicket but was very economical. Rest, Zaiur Rahman and Mohammad Saleem will be the two seamers.
Notably, Afghanistan will look to continue with the same playing XI against India.
Afghanistan Predicted Playing XI vs India- 2nd ODI, 2026
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK)
Ibrahim Zadran
Sediqullah Atal
Sediquallah Atal
Rahmat Shah
Hashmatullah Shahidi (C)
Azmatullah Omarzai
Mohammad Nabi
Rashid Khan
Allah Ghazanfar
Zaiur Rahman
Mohammad Saleem
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