World Cup 2019, Match 28: AFG v IND – India Predicted Playing XI

In the 28th match of the ICC World Cup 2019 Afghanistan take on India at the Rose Bowl, Southampton. The Indian team has won three matches out of four and the wins have come against top teams like South Africa, Australia and most recently, arch-rivals Pakistan, who were defeated by 89 runs via DLS method while the other game was washed out.

The Men in Blue have had problems of their own when it comes to fitness and injuries which has seen Shikhar Dhawan being ruled out of the tournament with a fracture on his left thumb and Rishabh Pant, who was earlier called in as his cover, is now been his official replacement. On the other hand, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been ruled out for at least three matches due to stiffness in his left hamstring.

Therefore, the team management has to make some tweaks and change the combination for this match against Afghanistan.

Here is the Indian Predicted Playing XI for Afghanistan match:

1. Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma has been in amazing form having already scored two centuries, a 122* against South Africa and 140 against Pakistan, apart from a knock of 57 against Australia. He has played some amazing shots and taken on the best of the best bowlers in these matches and also demolished Pakistan on a belter of a wicket.

Sharma’s role however changed in the Pakistan match given that he could no longer depend on Shikhar Dhawan to give the Indian team quick starts, as he has been ruled out of the tournament. He took on the initiative against Pakistan to give his new partner KL Rahul some time in the middle to get set and will be expected to do the same against Afghanistan.

2. KL Rahul

KL Rahul was chosen in the Indian team as the back up third opener for Rohit and Dhawan, but got to bat at no.4 in the warm-up matches and notched up a century against Bangladesh booking himself a place at the same spot in the main XI. He then got to bat at his preferred spot against Pakistan at the top with Dhawan was out with the injury and hit a composed and reassuring half century.

Now he owns that opening spot and will be up against down on luck Afghanistan team which should prove to be the best opportunity for him to boost his morale having already scored a fifty against Pakistan. A big score here will give him a lot of confidence moving forward, as the tournament as tougher challenges await the Men in Blue.

3. Virat Kohli (C)

Virat Kohli has continued his run of form in the World Cup as well and became the fastest batsman to 11,000 ODI runs beating the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Sourav Ganguly and others to the mark. He has hit two half centuries, one each against Australia and Pakistan and it’s just a matter of time before he produces a big one. Afghanistan might as well have to face the wrath of Kohli on June 22.

More importantly, Kohli’s captaincy has been very impressive given the bowling changes he has made along with other tactical and strategic decisions. He will be all fired up and at his intense best even if the opposition is a weaker Afghan side. For Team India, it is extremely important that Virat is at his element as that’s when they play like a champion side.

4. Vijay Shankar

Vijay Shankar is expected to keep his place in the playing XI on the basis of his performance in his debut World Cup game against Pakistan. It is not easy to play your first game on such a big stage in front of arch-rivals and come out on top. He was handed over the ball unexpectedly to complete Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s over and struck gold with his first ball, getting Imam-ul-Haq out LBW. It was also the maiden breakthrough for the team.

He continued his good work with one more wicket and contributed 15 runs with the bat. It would’ve really given Shankar a massive boost and will be looking forward to the coming matches. The fact that Dhawan is out and Rahul moves to the top, ensures he has a longer rope in the middle order. They do have Rishabh Pant in the ranks and the all-rounder has to perform to maintain his spot.

5. MS Dhoni (WK)

MS Dhoni is yet to tee off in the tournament apart from his century (113) in the warm-up game against Bangladesh. He scored 34 against South Africa, a quick 27 against Australia, his stay was for just 1 run against Pakistan in the big match. Dhoni also looked a bit lacklustre behind the stumps, as he was slow on a stumping opportunity and also missed a sure DRS review opportunity.

The game against Afghanistan comes as a boon for Dhoni, as he might get to move up the order and spend some valuable time middle to get ready for the forthcoming matches. This is important as apart from his enormous experience in the game and with gloves behind the stumps, his batting is a vital part of the Indian team’s plans for winning the tournament.

6. Kedar Jadhav

Kedar Jadhav hasn’t had much to do in the tournament so far apart from scoring 9 runs against Pakistan. His bowling services haven’t been called up either thanks to Hardik Pandya and now Vijay Shankar who’ve been doing their jobs perfectly. Jadhav, like Dhoni, is bereft of practice, given that he was recovering from his shoulder problem and didn’t participate in the warm-up matches.

Jadhav has been an integral part of the Indian team and lends them balance both in the batting and bowling departments. He has to prime up and be ready to deliver when there is the occasion, which in a tournament like the World Cup will certainly come.

7. Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya has been impressive with his all-round show since he returned from his back injury and was the star for the Mumbai Indians team in the IPL 2019. His hitting prowess has become deadly especially in the last few overs, as he has added the ability to take apart the faster bowlers as well, apart from the spinners. Hardik has been used as a floater by the Indian team and is summoned whenever there’s a need for his contribution.

Earlier, the opposition used to bring on fast bowlers to counter Hardik, but now even that option has been lost given Hardik murdered fast bowlers in IPL and did the same in the first three games of the World Cup as well. For this match against Afghanistan Hardik may get some extended time to go after the bowlers and get a big score and give the innings impetus.

8. Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav came back to form in style with two wickets against Pakistan in a crunch match after going wicketless against Australia. Yadav removed Fakhar and Babar, both of whom were well set and started Pakistan’s slide to their seventh defeat in World Cup history against India. Kuldeep found spin and grip from the surface, where Shadab and Imad failed to trouble the batsmen and went for runs.

Kuldeep Yadav had bamboozled Afghanistan batsmen before in Asia Cup as well and will be looking forward to getting some more momentum in the tournament as he will be looking to prepare himself for the England challenge. He has been a vital part of India’s success in ODIs since the last two years and has the backing of his captain in tough times.

9. Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal has picked up the most wickets for India in the ongoing tournament with six scalps to his name in three games. He picked the best haul of 4/51 against South Africa and bagged a couple of scalps against Australia. He has extracted spin from the surface and is courageous enough to give air to the ball even after being hit for a few runs to entice the batsmen and get wickets.

Virat Kohli has enormous confidence in Chahal to bring him into the attack just after the powerplay ends and more often than not, he picks up wickets to respond to the call. The Haryana leg-spinner will be licking his fingers at the opportunity to bowl to the Afghanistan batsmen who will be looking for some respite after the hard times they have in the match against hosts England the other day.

10. Mohammed Shami

Mohammed Shami had to really wait for this opportunity to break into the XI and it finally came as he will replace Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the team. He adds extra pace to this Indian attack and given his ability to extract movement in the air and off the wicket makes it all the more lethal. Shami was amazing in the Test series in England in 2018 and he is confident enough after his recent run in white-ball cricket.

Shami will be bowling with the new ball and at the death as well. Of late he has worked a lot on his yorker and this Afghanistan game is the right time for him to test out his variations. The highest wicket-taker from Team India’s 2015 World Cup campaign will want to make a memorable start when he takes the field in Southampton.

11. Jasprit Bumrah

Whatever can be said about Jasprit Bumrah has already been said and the no.1 ranked ODI bowler out his amazing skills on display against Australia, where he picked 3/61 and was both economical and impressive against South Africa, getting 2/35. Though he didn’t pick any wickets against Pakistan, he set the batsmen up and constantly kept them under pressure.

Bumrah understands his game really well and has become extremely aware of match situations. His yorkers send shivers down the batsmen’s spine and he also has the ability to put the batsmen on the back foot with a swift and sharp bouncer. Against Afghanistan, Bumrah might look to experiment a bit with some variations given the lower risk profile and possibly try something new.