Ace batter Virat Kohli is back in the Indian camp as the hosts gear up to lock horns with Afghanistan in the 2nd T20I on Sunday at the Holkar Stadium in Indore. Team India are 1-0 up already as they defeated the tourists by 6 wickets in the series opener in Mohali. They missed the services of one of their seasoned campaigner in Kohli who wasn’t available due to personal reasons. In his absence, Shivam Dube stepped up with a blistering 60-run knock to safely sail the Indian ship to the shore.
But now that Kohli is back in the hut and is raring to make his T20I return after more than a year, it gets trickier for the team management to accommodate the former captain in the final XI.
The top-order
It will be interesting to see if Yashasvi Jaiswal, who missed out on the first encounter in Mohali, will return for the Indore fixture. If the youngster is fit and available for selection, he would get to open the innings with skipper Rohit Sharma. Jasiwal has had a phenomenal run in the shortest format since making his debut last year. He has accumulated 430 runs in 15 games, scoring a century and three fifties.
Virat in the mix, Dube to strengthen middle-order
Since Kohli is back in the mix, the fans would see him batting at his usual position, No. 3. In that case, Tilak Varma may have to warm the bench along with Shubman Gill. Star of the series opener, Shivam Dube shall grab the No. 4 spot and enlighten the fans with his strokeplay at the Holkar Stadium.
The management, in all likelihood, would like to carry on with Jitesh Sharma as the first-choice wicketkeeper. If he gets the nod again ahead of Sanju Samson, Sharma will be in at No. 5 followed by Rinku Singh at No. 6. The Aligarh batter played the finisher’s role in Mohali, scoring an unbeaten 16 off just 9 balls.
Should Kuldeep return?
The Chinaman bowler was benched in Mohali as the team went ahead with Ravi Bishnoi along with all-rounders Axar Patel and Washington Sundar. But the young Rajasthan leg-spinner turned out to be the most expensive bowler, leaking runs at an economy rate of 11.70 and remaining wicketless.
But the management believes in backing a player in his tough times. It was evident in South Africa when Prasidh Krishna had another go despite an underwhelming Test debut.
Pace duo persists
The duo of Arshdeep Singh and Mukesh Kumar shall continue in the playing XI when India take on Afghanistan in the second T20I in Indore on Sunday. It will again be a challenge for them to deliver on a batting-friendly track at the Holkar stadium under the lights.
Here’s CricketNext’s predicted XI:
Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar.
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