After two crushing defeats against Pakistan and New Zealand, India’s race has been derailed and the performance they have put in place has not been worthy of a place in the semi-finals, although the maths keeps their hopes alive.
Afghanistan have achieved the expected victories in their two matches against Scotland and Namibia and were in the contest against Pakistan for the better part before Asif Ali snatched the game with four sixes in an over.
Against this background, Muhammad Nabi and Rashid Khan The Indians are looking to use all their might and T20 freelancing experience to add insult to injury and prolong the nightmare that began on October 24.
For Kohli, perhaps in his last three games as India’s T20 captain, some prudent team selection will be expected and it begins with the question of Ashwin repeatedly ignoring a player of his caliber.
It is unheard of in world cricket that one of the most decorated players in the current generation has been turned into a proud traveler since he last wore the national shirt in June.
Ashwin’s entry into the white-ball team after four years was actually a left-field selection and if sources are to be believed, it never got the approval of the Indian captain.
However Kohli’s decision not to consider him as a substitute is something that many in Indian cricket seem to have come across as “the limits of persistence”. Varun ChakrabortyThe inability to perform under pressure proved what the experience really meant.
In terms of talent and skill, no spinner can come close to Ashwin in this Indian set-up. The only thing that went against him was his lack of consistency which led to his ouster four years back.
But desperate times call for desperate measures and against Afghanistan, who are not used to facing a spinner of Ashwin’s class, his presence could prove beneficial.
The opening pair of almost left-handed Hazratullah Zazai and the flamboyant and flamboyant Mohammad Shahzad, who lacks footwork, may find it difficult to deal with Ashwin’s moves.
If Kohli once again chooses to leave Tamil Nadu’s Tweaker out of the mix, there will be “external noises”, which the captain often describes as “irrelevant”, along with “inside voices”, which he ignores. Can’t, will be strong. The reason is non cricket.
In terms of cricketing logic, ignoring him would be as difficult as wicketkeeping. Rohit Sharma away from the starting position, where it really belongs.
Afghanistan’s new bowlers – veteran Hamid Hasan and young Naveen-ul-Haq – are certainly good, but on their day, KL Rahul and Rohit could have sent them on a leather-hunt.
After two bad matches, they will want exactly that in a new venue (Abu Dhabi).
if Suryakumar YadavSuffering from a back spasm, fit and available, both he and Ishan Kishan can possibly be seen playing in the middle order as the team is hardly getting any tangible benefit from Hardik Pandya’s presence.
Contributing 31 runs from 35 balls in two matches is certainly not something the Indian team expects from their leading finishers.
Against Afghanistan, the middle overs, during which the unique Rashid Khan operates, will be crucial.
With Gulbadin Naib, who bowls steady medium pace wicket-to-wicket with the occasional ‘heavy ball’, India will look to play those overs carefully.
They would mainly like to attack the Afghan seamer to increase the scoring.
Kohli will be looking to chase down the lights with dew, but if he bats first, an average of 145 to 155 could possibly spell trouble if Shahzad starts finding something in the middle of his bat.
It will be a match where if India wins, they won’t get any credit, but if they lose, everything will fall apart.
Teams (from):
India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma (VC), KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (Week), Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rahul Chahar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravichandran Ashwin
Afghanistan: Mohammad Nabi (Captain), Hazratullah Zazai, Ahmed Shahzad, Gulbadin Naib, Naveen-ul-Haq, Rashid Khan, Hamid Hassan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Mujeeb ur Rehman, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Farid Ahmed, Osman Ghani
.