India are currently taking on Afghanistan in the second ODI of the three-match series at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. This will be crucial for the Men in Blue as they would look for their second consecutive win in the series to seal it with a game still to be played. As Afghanistan won the toss and elected to field, the India playing XI was revealed and there was one major change. India were without any pace bowling all-rounder as Nitish Kumar Reddy was dropped.
Nitish Kumar Reddy was not dropped intentionally. In fact, the BCCI has confirmed that the all-rounder was rested after he suffered an injury to his left knee. “Mr Nitish Kumar Reddy was unavailable for selection for the second ODI due to a sore left thigh,” the apex Indian cricketing body said in a statement.
Who Is Playing Vs Afghanistan In 2nd ODI Instead Of Nitish Kumar Reddy?
India have not fielded an all-rounder in place of Nitish Kumar Reddy in the second odi vs Afghanistan. They have opted for an extra pacer, and thus handed Prince Yadav his ODI debut. In fact, India have also rested Harsh Dubey and brought in Kuldeep Yadav to replace him.
This means that India will play with seven batters, and four proper bowlers, meaning that this is a major departure from Gautam Gambhir’s usual playing XI template where he plays with an all-rounder who can bat at no.8.
India Playing XI For 2nd ODI vs Afghanistan
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav.
India Squad For Afghanistan ODI Series
India Squad: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Prince Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav.
