Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Rohit Sharma, the captain of the Indian cricket team, secured the toss and chose to field against Afghanistan in the second T20I of a three-match series at Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore on Sunday.
In the initial encounter of the series, India clinched a 6-wicket victory over Afghanistan. The notable return of Virat Kohli to India's playing XI for the second T20I in Indore marked his comeback after missing the opening match due to personal reasons. Shubman Gill and Tilak Varma made way for Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the playing XI.
During the toss, Rohit Sharma explained the decision, stating, "We are going to bowl first. No specific reason, just the nature of the ground, especially the small boundaries. We discussed specific roles in our meeting, and the players executed them well in the first game. We want to back them, allow them to play freely on the ground. While we have an eye on the World Cup, we also understand the importance of results. Kohli and Jaiswal are back, replacing Gill and Tilak."
Afghanistan's captain, Ibrahim Zadran, expressed his thoughts, saying, "We will strive to bat well today and set a competitive total. Unfortunately, we lost the toss again, and I would have preferred to bowl first. We discussed the first game and worked on our weaknesses in the net session yesterday. Despite a challenging start with the bat in the last game, we've addressed the issues, and hopefully, we can provide a strong start today. Rahmat is not playing, and Noor Ahmad is in the playing XI."
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma(w), Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh and Mukesh Kumar.
Afghanistan (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
—Input from Agencies