File photo of Virat Kohlil.
Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi opt to bowl first after winning the toss against Virat Kohli-led India in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
After winning the toss, the Afghan captain said, "We will bowl first. Last game there was a lot of dew in the second half. Mujeeb isn't playing. We always prepare for both, but today we'll bowl first because of dew. We'll play normal cricket and go and enjoy."
Meanwhile, Kohli said: "Firstly there's no denying the fact that the situation is a tricky one. Having said that there's still a chance. We as a team will look at the chance and try to play positive cricket. We know we haven't played up to potential whatever the reasons might be - need to brush that aside. Would have bowled first. But it's not a bad thing against a side like Afghanistan who look to put up runs on the board. Couple of changes - Surya is back as he's fit. Ashwin replaces Varun who has a bit of a niggle."
Playing XI
India: KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli(c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah
Afghanistan: Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad(w), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi(c), Gulbadin Naib, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Rashid Khan, Karim Janat, Naveen-ul-Haq, Hamid Hassan
After India's dismal show against New Zealand's spin web, the headache has turned into a migraine for India as they take on Afghanistan on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi. The Indian batters need to pull up their socks especially against the Afghan spin attack as their core spin duo Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman have been in lethal form in the ongoing tournament. Besides, the Afghan skipper- Mohammad Nabi also gives tensed nerves with his off-spin.
The deceptive leggie Rashid Khan is in sublime form in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021. In the three innings, Khan has scalped seven wickets and has an economy of 4.74.
Injury Updates
Suryakumar Yadav is likely to return to the Indian side after missing out on the last match due to a back spasm. For Afghanistan, Sharafudin Ashraf was approved as a replacement for Asghar Afghan in the Afghanistan squad ahead of their match against India. All-rounder Sharafudin, who has played 17 ODIs and nine T20Is, was approved as a replacement following Asghar's retirement.
India: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami
Afghanistan: Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad(w), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi(c), Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Karim Janat, Hamid Hassan, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Usman Ghani, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Fareed Ahmad, Sharafuddin Ashraf.
