Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team enters the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan as favourites as they remain unbeaten in five matches played between the two teams with four wins and one game abandoned.
Despite scoring two fifties against Australia in the T20I series after World Cup 2023, the wicketkeeper batter Ishan Kishan was dropped from the team for the recent South Africa tour and now also misses out on the squad for the upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan.
Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma last played T20I cricket during the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final but are set to make their return to the shortest format of the game in the upcoming series against Afghanistan starting on January 11.
Star Indian cricketers Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are set to make their T20I return after a gap of 14 months and are also expected to make the team for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in West Indies and USA starting on January 1.
Rashid Khan who is the T20I skipper of Afghanistan is currently recuperating from back surgery and hence Ibrahim Zadran has been named the stand-in skipper of the team for the series.
UAE and Afghanistan are set to face each other in the three-match T20I series starting from December 29 with all matches scheduled to be played in Sharjah. While UAE have nothing much to look forward to, Afghanistan will be keen on preparing for the T20 World Cup next year.
India's star cricketer Suryakumar Yadav reportedly twisted his ankle during the third T20I game against South Africa in Johannesburg on December 14 and is likely to remain on the sidelines for six weeks.
Babar Azam scored 320 runs in nine ICC World Cup 2023 matches at an average of 40.00 with four fifties as Pakistan failed to secure the knockout qualification. Babar also resigned from captaincy duties across formats after a poor show in India.
Azmatullah Omarzai, the bowling all-rounder, registered his highest score in ODIs to help Afghanistan score 244 runs while batting first in Ahmedabad. But South Africa managed to chase the tough target after a brilliant fifty from Rassie van der Dussen.
World Cup 2023: Netherlands were kicked from the semifinal race after a huge defeat against England on Wednesday leaving New Zealand, Pakistan and Afghanistan completing for the remaining berth to secure the knockout qualification.
The first semifinal of the ongoing World Cup will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai whereas the second semifinal will be organised at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. India are still awaiting the results of the remaining fixtures of the round-robin stage to find out their semifinal opponent.
Afghanistan and Australia both have one game remaining in the round-robin stage of the ongoing marquee tournament. Australia are slated to take on Bangladesh whereas Afghanistan have to face South Africa.
Afghanistan have scored a competitive total of 291 in their 50 overs for the loss of five wickets. They will heavily rely on their spinners - Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad to win this contest against the five-time ODI World Cup winners Australia.
Australia are already fretting over Glenn Maxwell's fitness while Mitchell Marsh has just joined the squad after going back home for personal reasons. Meanwhile, Smith's fitness will leave the management worried as he is one of the important players in the team.
World Cup 2023 Points Tables: Afghanistan pulled off their third consecutive win by beating Netherlands by seven wickets in the latest game in Lucknow. Hashmatullah Shahidi moved up to 5th position in the points table with 8 points in 7 matches so far.
The veteran spin all-rounder Mohammad Nabi and youngster Noor Ahmad took five wickets combined to bowl out Netherlands on just 179 runs in a crucial World Cup 2023 match at Lucknow's Ekana Cricket Stadium.
India TV Sports Wrap on October 31: Afghanistan beat Sri Lanka by 7 wickets to notch up their third win while Pakistan face Bangladesh in a must-win clash In football, Lionel Messi clinched his 8th Ballon d'Or title. Here are the top 10 trending news stories from the sporting world on October 31.
Sri Lanka suffered their fourth loss in the ongoing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup as Afghanistan notched up their third win and were as clinical in the 241-run chase as possible. Sri Lanka are on the verge of facing an early exit from the tournament but there is a chance to make it to CT25.
The race to the semifinals has gained momentum now in the ongoing World Cup 2023. All the ten participating nations are still in contention to finish in the top four as the round-robin stage of the tournament continues to roll on.
Afghanistan have now registered three wins in the ongoing showpiece event in India. They still have three games to play in the round-robin stage against Netherlands, Australia and South Africa respectively.
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