New Delhi: India will take on Afghanistan in the first Super 8 match at the Kensington Oval in Barbados. The men in blue are entering the match after remaining undefeated in the matches that they have played. On the other hand, the Afghanistan team are coming into the match after being belted across the park courtesy of Nicky P.
Although Afghanistan was outfoxed by the Windies, the spin-friendly condition of Barbados is likely to assist the trio of Rashid, Nabi and Noor. On the other hand, India’s batsmen who are adept at playing spin bowling, have looked patchy throughout the league stages.
India also has a trick or two in their arsenal and with the spinning tracks of the Caribbean, India’s frontline white ball spinner Kuldeep Yadav could turn out to be the rabbit from the hat. Skipper Rohit Sharma has always said that the team look well-balanced with four all-rounders (Pandya, Dube, Jadeja, Axar) and the 2 finger spinners. However, with so much spin on offer Team India might be tempted to change the lineup.
How will India tame the Afghan terror?
Rohit has made it very clear about his stand to go ahead with three specialised pacers. Naturally, the main question is who will make way for Kuldeep. One probable lineup that Rohit and Co. can go ahead with is slotting in Kuldeep for the left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh.
On the other hand, to sort out the batting worries of Team India, Virat Kohli might drop to his usual position of No. 3. It leaves two possibilities:
- Let Rishab Pant open the batting with Rohit so that Virat can play in the No. 3 position.
- Axe one batting slot to fit in Yashasvi Jaiswal who is India’s specialised batsman.
If India makes any changes, then it is most likely to go with the second option. Because, if not that who will think of dropping King Kohli! ahead of such an important match?
Probable XI
Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishab Pant, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh/Kuldeep Yadav
