IND vs AFG T20 series: India ready to grab final opportunity before T20 World Cup

• India vs Afghanistan T20 series starts from today
• Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli returns to T20 squad
• Virat will not play 1st T20 due to personal reasons

Mohali: After a relatively successful African safari, Team India is on a final assignment against Afghanistan in a three-match T20 series ahead of the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the US. And, as a much-needed fillip, senior pro Rohit Sharma returns to the T20 cricket.

Rohit returns to the shortest format after a gap of over 400 days and is 43 runs shy from being India's captain with the most T20I runs in history. The Mumbaikar would like to make light work of the Afghanistan attack and stamp his authority ahead of the T20 World Cup.

Besides Rohit, all eyes will be on Yashsavi Jaiswal who will open with Rohit in the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan. The Mumbaikar had a dismissal outing in the Test series against South Africa in the Rainbow Nation.

The focus also will be on pocket-size dasher Rinku Singh and tall Andhra batsman Tilak Varma. Rinku has been in great form ever since his debut for India. Varma also proved his credentials by powering Hyderabad to victory as a batsman and a captain in the ongoing Ranji Trophy.

Virat Kohli, who was keen on preparing for the T20 World Cup event, mises out Thursday's match due to personal reasons. This was confirmed by Head Coach Rahul Dravid in a pre-match press conference.

Virat was making a return as Rohit after India's defeat to England in the last T20 World Cup in India. However, much of the discussion will revolve around Team India's young bowling attack in the absence of seniors like Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, who have been rested for this series. Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan will like to spearhead the pace attack, while Kuldeep Yadav lead the spin department.

On the flip side, Afghanistan is no mug in white-ball cricket. Known for being a good T20I side, they proved a point in the ODI World Cup where they sprung surprises by gaining an upset win against big teams.

Led by Ibrahim Zadran and Hazratullah Zazai in terms of power-hitting, their bowling trio of Naveen ul Haq, Noor Ahmad and Qais Ahmad will also be trying to bolster their echelons.

The surface on offer at IS Bindra Stadium is a batting paradise, in contrast to the earlier deck which was an absolute boon for the fast bowlers. It offers good carry and bounce while promising an average score of 180 and over.

Of the nine T20Is played at the venue, five of them have been won batting first while four have been won chasing.

Squads:

India: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar

Afghanistan: Ibrahim Zadran (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Wk), Ikram Alikhil (WK), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen Ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem, Qais Ahmad, Gulbadin Naib.