T20 World Cup: Kuldeep Replaces Siraj As India Elect To Bat First Against Afghanistan

T20 World Cup: Kuldeep replaces Siraj as India elect to bat first against Afghanistan (Image Source: IANS)

T20 World Cup: Left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav replaces fast-bowler Mohammed Siraj in India's playing eleven as captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat first in the side’s first Super Eight match of 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup against Afghanistan at the Kensington Oval on Thursday.

India have met Afghanistan eight times in men’s T20Is and have never lost to them in the format. The last time they met, India and Afghanistan were tied at 212 each at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru this year and played out two Super Overs before Rohit & Co eventually prevailed.

Kuldeep didn’t feature in India’s Group A matches in the USA due to conditions being favourable for fast bowlers. But with the expectation of spinners thriving in the West Indies as the game progresses, he is now all set to play his first T20 World Cup game.

It means India’s bowling combination consists of three spinners, three pacers, and the part-time pace of Shivam Dube. “Looks alright at this moment, looks like a good track. No grass on the pitch, I guess it will get slower. It's better than New York. We have to adapt to the conditions quickly.”

“We have been here for a couple of days, we have played a lot of cricket. It's about understanding what we need to do in conditions like these. It's an early start. Usually starts in the evening elsewhere. We enjoy playing here,” said Rohit after winning the toss.

Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan said batter Hazratullah Zazai comes into the playing eleven in place of Karim Janat. Zazai came into the Afghanistan squad as a replacement for injured spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman. “We would have liked to bat first. It's more about how you play the game in T20s.”

“Happy with our preparations and how things have gone. We are facing good teams, need to control our emotions, and play our natural game. It does help to get used to the conditions. We have to play good cricket,” he said.

The ground dimensions are 58m and 67m square boundaries, with a 70m boundary down the ground. Afghanistan have played all four of their Group C matches in the Caribbean, while Thursday’s game will be India’s first match in the island region in the tournament.

Playing XIs:

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Najibullah Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan (c), Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi