The third T20I of the ongoing three-match series between India and Afghanistan will be played on Wednesday (January 17). The match is scheduled to take place at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. For the third T20I, India could make multiple changes to the playing XI and include players who missed out on selection in the first couple of matches.
After securing back-to-back wins in the first two T20Is of the ongoing three-match series, the Indian men’s cricket team will face Afghanistan in the third T20I on Wednesday (January 17). The final match of the bilateral series is scheduled to take place at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. India would like to win the third match in a row to whitewash the Rashid Khan-less Afghanistan team.
The win in the third T20I will also help Rohit break MS Dhoni’s record of winning 41 T20Is for India as captain and become the most successful Indian skipper in the shortest format of the game. For the last match, India is expected to make multiple changes to the playing XI in order to give a chance to players who missed out in the first couple of games. The likes of Sanju Samson, Kuldeep Yadav, and Avesh Khan could get a game in Bengaluru.
Samson, who scored a century in his last match for India, will be a like-for-like replacement for wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma, who got a chance to bat at No. 5 in both the matches played so far. If Kuldeep and Avesh are considered for selection, then they are likely to replace Ravi Bishnoi and Mukesh Kumar in the playing XI.
Kuldeep was preferred over Bishnoi in the T20I series against South Africa last month, and he picked up a five-wicket haul in the series decider played in Johannesburg, whereas Avesh was on fire in the ODI series against the Proteas. Both Avesh and Kuldeep are also included in India’s 16-member squad for the first two Tests against England.
In the last T20I for India before the T20 World Cup 2024, Rohit would also like to come up with a big score. The Indian skipper got out for naught in the first two matches.
India’s likely playing XI for the 3rd T20I against Afghanistan: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shivam Dube, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, and Avesh Khan.
