India have dropped young sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi from the opening game of the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. The 15-year-old was adjudged the Player of the Series against Zimbabwe, but that couldn’t secure his spot in the playing XI. Sanju Samson, who returned to the squad against Afghanistan, was slotted in right away and will pair with Abhishek Sharma at the top of the order.
Captain Shreyas Iyer didn’t quite explain the reason behind the move. It seems strategic at this point, as the team management is backing Samson after a stunning T20 World Cup earlier in the year. He suffered to make a mark in the series against Ireland and England and for the same reason, he was dropped from the Zimbabwe series earlier in the year.
Jasprit Bumrah returns to playing XI
After missing the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah is set to return to action. He was previously at the Centre of Excellence, sharpening his fitness. He will pair with Arshdeep Singh to open the spell.
Meanwhile, Washington Sundar and Yash Thakur are also out of the opening match of the series. Nitish Kumar Reddy has been slotted in the middle order and it is possible that he is given more responsibility, given that Hardik Pandya is missing the series.
India opt to bowl first
India captain Shreyas Iyer has won the toss and elected to bowl first. He explained the conditions in Delhi made the decision easy for him.
“We’re going to bowl first, which is what generally happens in T20 cricket. I mean, when you have played in Delhi, you know what the pitch has got to offer and we’ve played quite a bit of matches over here. So based on that and looking at the conditions, that’s really both,” Shreyas said after the toss.
India (Playing XI): Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy
Afghanistan (Playing XI): Ibrahim Zadran (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi
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