Mohammad Nabi To Play? Afghanistan Predicted Playing XI vs India, 1st ODI - 2026

Afghanistan predicted XI vs India [Source: AFP]

ODI cricket returns to India on Saturday, June 11, as they play their first fifty-over game since the New Zealand series in January. This time around, they host Afghanistan in the first of the three-match series at HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala at 1:30 PM (IST).

Thanks to a really long T20 season, this also marks Afghanistan's first ODI since their 3-0 series win over Bangladesh in Abu Dhabi in October 2025.

Basically, both teams are just returning to the longer format and will treat this series as the start of their build-up towards the ICC mega event at the end of 2027, when Africa will host the ODI World Cup.

Starting from the first ODI of this series, both India and Afghanistan will try out different team combinations and a new set of players to build their core and bench strength. Nonetheless, this series remains instrumental for the 7th-ranked Afghanistan, as they look to stay in the top-8 and achieve an automatic qualification to the World Cup.

West Indies' recent series loss against Sri Lanka also gives Afghanistan a chance to take an early lead over the Caribbeans in the qualification race.

They will also have some of their big IPL stars returning to the setup after some of them missed out on the only Test. Inclusion of Rashid Khan, Allah Ghazanfar and Mohammad Nabi will significantly improve their first-choice XI.

As the visitors look to win their first-ever international match against India in their first-ever bilateral series, we take a look at the predicted playing XI for the series opener.

Afghanistan's probable XI vs India, 1st ODI- AFG tour of IND, 2026

Top-Order: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal

Afghanistan's best ODI batter of 2025, Ibrahim Zadran, will continue to open alongside his long-time partner Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the ODI series against India. 

In 2025, Zadran scored 429 runs in 9 innings, averaging 71.50, with a century and two fifties to his name. Gurbaz didn't score heavily but remains a key member of this team.

Also Read: Will Rohit Sharma Play India vs Afghanistan 1st ODI?

Sediquallah Atal will follow them at number 3. So far, he has not cemented his place in the team and has scored 377 runs in 11 ODI innings, but this series will give him a chance to recreate his exploits from the Emerging Asia Cup. 

Middle-Order and All-Rounders: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi

Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi had a terrible 2025, scoring only 99 runs in 6 innings, but he is nearing 100 ODIs and 2500 runs in the format. With his stability in the middle order, players can bat around him freely as well.

The youngster Ikram Alikhil will bat at 5 with 386 runs in 23 innings so far. Like Atal, he hasn't proved himself at the international level, but looking at the World Cup 2027, he could still be trusted for some time.

The world number 1 all-rounder, Azmatullah Omarzai, who averages 43.72 in 34 innings at a healthy strike rate of 97.41 for 1093 runs as a finisher. 

He also has the best score of an unbeaten 149. The 41-year-old, Mohammad Nabi, with 3762 runs in 154 innings and 176 wickets, will be the other finisher in the lineup.

Bowlers: Rashid Khan, Nangeyalia Kharote, Allah Ghazanfar, Bilal Sami

Rashid Khan, with 1393 ODI runs at a strike rate of 104.89 and 210 wickets in the format, will be the number 8 batter to elongate the lineup after being relieved of the captaincy duties. 

His spin partner is the young left-arm orthodox Nangeyalia Kharote, who has 13 wickets in 10 ODIs at an economy rate of 3.54 runs per over.

Following a good IPL season with the Mumbai Indians as their leading wicket-taker, Allah Ghazanfar will be another bowler to watch out for. He has 23 wickets in 14 matches at an economy rate of 4.23 in his ODI career.

Right-arm pacer Bilal Sami, who made his debut in the series against Bangladesh, is the likely lead pacer of the team after picking 5 wickets in the first two ODIs that he has played.

Notably, Ziaur Rahman is also with the squad and has been impressive in Tests. He could be in line for making his debut, depending on the surface. He will replace Kharote if they go with the pace option.

Afghanistan's probable playing XI for 1st ODI vs India- Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Nangeyalia Kharote, Allah Ghazanfar, Bilal Sami

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