Why is this story important?
The news that Rohit and Kohli would be joining India’s T20I team made the cricket community very happy. But for personal reasons, the latter is expected to miss the Mohali T20I.
The 2022 ICC T20 World Cup semi-final was Rohit and Kohli’s final appearance in the format.
Fascinatingly, India will have three last Twenty20 Internationals before the 2024 T20 World Cup thanks to the upcoming Afghanistan series.
A peek at India’s itinerary
India and Afghanistan will play three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) in Mohali, Indore, and Bengaluru on January 11, 14, and 17, respectively.
After that, on January 25, India will play England in a five-match Test series. After that, the athletes will join their respective IPL teams.
Two weeks prior to the start of the T20 World Cup (on June 1), the lucrative league will come to an end.
The Indian team for the T20I series against Afghanistan
The following players represent India: skipper Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, and Mukesh Kumar.
Jaiswal and Rohit will open
Returning to lead India in the shortest possible time is Rohit. Dravid affirmed that he and Jaiswal will begin the innings.
Notably, Jaiswal appears to be in a higher position in the hierarchy than Shubman Gill.
The former, who debuted in Twenty20 Internationals in 2023, concluded the year as India’s leading run scorer in the competition. His striking percentage was a remarkable 159.25.
Here’s why Ishan and Iyer were left out.
Iyer’s absence from the Afghanistan T20I series has been the subject of multiple media stories.
These rumors implied that Iyer would face disciplinary action from the BCCI, which prevented him from making the cut. Iyer, according to Dravid, lost out because other hitters were in the running.
In addition, Ishan could not be chosen for the next series.