India’s captain Shubman Gill has opted to bowl first in the rain-curtailed India vs Afghanistan 1st ODI. The match has been reduced to 25 overs per side. Prior to the game, it was expected that Team India would hand maiden debuts. The two lucky players were Harsh Dubey and Gurnoor Brar.
Newest India debutants
The former was handed his maiden India ODI cap by KL Rahul, while the latter received it from his Punjab and Gujarat Titans skipper Gill. Dubey’s inclusion means Kuldeep Yadav will warm the bench for the match in Dharamshala. Similarly, Prince Yadav won’t be making his India debut either, with Brar getting the nod ahead of him.
KL Rahul, Virat Kohli’s replacement
The team sheet also confirmed that Rahul will take over Virat Kohli’s number three spot. India’s assistant coach Morne Morkel had hinted towards the possibility of it happening on the eve of the match. Ishan Kishan has come back to the ODI team after 27 months and is slotted at number five, Rahul’s original position in the side.
India Playing XI for IND vs AFG 1st ODI
Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer (vc), Ishan Kishan (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harsh Dubey, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar
Bench: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kuldeep Yadav and Prince Yadav.
