T20 series: Rohit to lead India against Afghanistan

KABUL (Pajhwok): Rohit Sharma will captain India the T20I series against Afghanistan, commencing this week in Mohali, The Times of India reported on Monday.

Just like Rohit, veteran cricketer Virat Kohli has also returned to the Indian squad for the three-match series after a 14 months hiatus, according to the newspaper.

With fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja rested, injured all-rounder Hardik Pandya and middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav are also out of the home side.

KL Rahul has been excluded from the 16-member squad, which features Jitesh Sharma and Sanju Samson as wicket-keeper-batsmen.

All-rounder Shivam Dube has been picked in Hardik’s absence. Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has once again been left out.

Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav have been chosen as spinners. Washington Sundar and Axar Patel have been included as spin all-rounders.

In the absence of rested Bumrah and Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar have been included in the team as pacers.

The T20I series is scheduled to commence on January 11 in Mohali. The second match will be played on January 14 in Indore and the last game on January 17 in Bengaluru.

The Indian squade includes Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan and Mukesh Kumar.

PAN Monitor/mud

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