In the first T20I clash between India and Afghanistan, Rohit Sharma, back in action after 14 months, won the toss and opted to bowl in Mohali.
In the opening T20I of the three-match series against Afghanistan in Mohali, India's captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl. This series marks the beginning of the first-ever bilateral series between the two teams, excluding World Cup and continental events. Despite head coach Rahul Dravid's earlier announcement that Yashasvi Jaiswal would open the innings with Rohit, the captain revealed a change in plans, stating that Jaiswal, along with Kuldeep Yadav, would not be part of the series opener.
Yashasvi Jaiswal unavailable for tonight's match due to the sore right groin. pic.twitter.com/dGnXGxMl7X
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra)"We will bowl first. No particular reason, the pitch is good, and it doesn't change a lot here. A lot to gain from the 3 games... Sanju Samson, Avesh, Yashasvi (who didn't pull off well), and Kuldeep miss out," said Rohit Sharma at the toss.
Following the toss, the BCCI provided a medical update, stating that Yashasvi Jaiswal was unavailable for selection due to a sore right groin.
India's Playing XI: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma(w), Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar
Afghanistan's Playing XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran(c), Rahmat Shah, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman