The India vs Afghanistan T20 2024 cricket series will start at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Thursday, January 11.
As per the schedule, the two teams will travel to Indore to play the second T20 international at the Holkar Cricket Stadium on January 14.
The third and final T20I is scheduled to be hosted at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on January 17.
Ahead of the home series, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the 16-man squad.
Rohit Sharma has been named the captain of the Indian T20I squad. Apart from Rohit, India talisman Virat Kohli has also been included for the upcoming three-match T20I series.
Interestingly, both Rohit and Virat have returned to the T20I squad for the first time since India’s defeat to England in the semi-final of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 at the Adelaide Oval.
Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav have been ruled out of the series due to injuries.
Several leading players including KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shreyas Iyer, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj have not been included in the squad.
Jitesh Sharma and Sanju Samson are the two wicket-keeping options added to the squad.
In the bowling department, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan and Mukesh Kumar are the fast bowlers while Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi and Washington Sundar are four spin bowling options.
India head into the series after the close-fought multi-format series against South Africa. While India salvaged a 1-1 draw in the T20Is and Tests, they won the ODI series 2-1.
On the other hand, the Afghanistan cricket team will be led by Ibrahim Zadran.
Afghanistan’s regular T20I captain, Rashid Khan, has been included in the 19-member squad. However, Rashid Khan is doubtful for the T20I series as he is yet to recover from his back surgery.
Star off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been added to the squad after he wasn’t part of the T20I series in the UAE due to his commitment in the Big Bash League.
Qais Ahmad and Noor Ahmad are the other two spinners included in the formidable squad.
Ikram Alikhil has been named as the back-up wicketkeeper to Rahmanullah Gurbaz for Afghanistan.
India vs Afghanistan T20 head-to-head
India have a dominant head-to-head record against Afghanistan in T20 cricket, winning four of the five matches that they have played so far.
The last time these two sides met in the shortest format, the game was abandoned due to rain in Hangzhou, China.
Where to watch India vs Afghanistan T20 2024 series live in India?
The India vs Afghanistan T20 2024 series will be telecast live on Sports18 1 and Sports18 1 HD TV channels in India.
Live streaming of the IND vs AFG T20Is 2024 will be available on the JioCinema app and website.
India vs Afghanistan T20 2024 schedule and live match start times
All match times are in India Standard Time (IST)
|
Day and Date |
Match |
Venue |
Time (IST) |
|
Thursday, January 11 |
India vs Afghanistan, 1st T20I |
Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali |
7:00 PM |
|
Sunday, January 14 |
India vs Afghanistan, 2nd T20I |
Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore |
7:00 PM |
|
Wednesday, January 17 |
India vs Afghanistan, 3rd T20I |
M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru |
7:00 PM |
India vs Afghanistan T20 2024 squads
India T20 squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar
Afghanistan T20 squad: Ibrahim Zadran (captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wicket-keeper), Ikram Alikhil (wicket-keeper), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmaullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen Ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem, Qais Ahmad, Gulbadin Naib and Rashid Khan
Photo credit: Alamy
