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India Team - (Source: AFP)
On Saturday, India will lock horns against Afghanistan in the 1st of the three-match ODI series. The two teams will collide at the majestic Dharamshala Stadium in Himachal Pradesh. The Afghans are low on confidence after recently suffering a heavy defeat in the one-off Test against India.
India, on the other hand, are dealing with several injury concerns, making the upcoming ODI series even more challenging.
India vs Afghanistan Preview
For Afghanistan, they have been bolstered by the return of Rashid Khan. However, Hashmatullah Shahidi will continue to lead the side. Also, Allah Ghazanfar is a part of Afghanistan’s ODI, who had a great IPL season recently.
For India, the Men in Blue are dealing with injury concerns. Firstly, Virat Kohli was ruled out of the series because of a hamstring issue. In the latest events, Hardik Pandya too got ruled out of the ODIs because of a fresh setback.
Hence, the fans are curious who will replace Hardik Pandya in the playing XI, and this article will shed light on India’s predicted playing XI vs Afghanistan.
India Likely Playing XI vs Afghanistan- 1st ODI
Openers and Top Order (Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan)
Amid the injury concerns, India have received a boost as Rohit Sharma has regained full fitness. Hence, the hitman will open the innings with Shubman Gill. Notably, Rohit will also become the oldest cricketer to play an ODI for India.
At No.3, Ishan Kishan will replace Virat Kohli. The southpaw has not played a solitary ODI since October 2023 and will mark a spectacular return to the fifty-over format. The 27-year-old had a great domestic season and also shone for SRH in IPL 2026, forcing his comeback in the Indian team.
Middle Order and All Rounders (Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy)
At No.4, Shreyas Iyer will bat. Iyer has been handed a new role of T20I leadership, which means more eyeballs on him even in the fifty-over format. Further, KL Rahul will bat at No.5 as the star batter is fresh off a remarkable century against Afghanistan in the one-off Test.
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Among the all-rounders, India will miss Hardik Pandya due to injury, but Nitish Kumar Reddy will be the strike all-rounder. The SRH all-rounder has a lot of responsibilities on his shoulders and a chance to break the image of being Pandya’s understudy.
Rest, Washington Sundar will be the other all-rounder in the team as Gautam Gambhir has backed him across formats, and the southpaw has lived up to the expectations.
Bowlers (Harsh Dubey, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Prince Yadav)
Harsh Dubey is most likely to make his international debut against Afghanistan and will be one of the spinners alongside Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar.
Rest, Arshdeep Singh will spearhead the bowling attack, alongside Prince Yadav, who is most likely to make his India debut as well.
India Predicted Playing XI vs Afghanistan- 1st ODI
Shubman Gill (C)
Rohit Sharma
Ishan Kishan (WK)
Shreyas Iyer
KL Rahul
Washington Sundar
Nitish Kumar Reddy
Harsh Dubey
Arshdeep Singh
Kuldeep Yadav
Prince Yadav
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