India will make their return to ODI cricket and face Afghanistan in a three-match ODI series. The three fixtures will be played on June 13, 17 and 20 in Dharamsala, Lucknow and Chennai, respectively. India suffered a blow before the start of the series as Virat Kohli was ruled out due to a hamstring injury. Hardik Pandya also won’t feature in the series. Afghanistan don’t pose a big challenge for India and it should be a comfortable series win for the Men in Blue. Here, we have a look at India’s likely playing XI for first ODI –
openers
Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma will continue to open the innings. Rohit recently proved his fitness and he was cleared to join the national team. The former India captain suffered a hamstring injury during IPL and played as an Impact Player upon his return.
Rohit will have the onus to stay in the middle for long in the absence of Virat Kohli, who has been ruled out of the series due to a hamstring injury.
middle order
Ishan Kishan is likely to bat at number 3 in the absence of Virat Kohli. Kishan has been batting at number 3 in T20Is since his return to the team and is expected to replace Kohli in the final XI. He has batted at different positions in ODIs and T20Is.
Shreyas Iyer will bat at number. The India ODI vice-captain solved India’s number 4 conundrum ahead of the 2023 World Cup and will continue to bat in the middle order. KL Rahul will keep the wickets and bat at number 5.
All-rounders
Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar will be two all-rounders in the final XI. Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of the series due to an injury. The BCCI hasn’t announced his replacement yet. Shivam Dube could be brought back to the ODI team in Pandya’s absence.
Bowlers
Arshdeep Singh and Prasidh Krishna are likely to jointly lead the pace attack. Prince Yadav could be handed his debut cap in the series opener. The right-arm pacer is also part of the T20I teams for the series against Ireland and England. Kuldeep Yadav will lead India’s spin attack.
India’s likely playing XI for 1st ODI vs Afghanistan
Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav
