After losing two consecutive matches, the Indian cricket team will look to register their first win and bring their struggling campaign back on track when they face a confident Afghanistan in a Super 12 clash of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, on Wednesday.
The Virat Kohli-led India have suffered crushing defeats against Pakistan and New Zealand in their last two matches while Afghanistan won their two games against Scotland and Namibia before losing to Pakistan.
Must-Win Game for India
In their last outing against the Kiwis, India shuffled the batting order as Ishan Kishan, who replaced the injured Suryakumar Yadav, opened the batting alongside KL Rahul. However, the move to push Ishan at the top and demote regular opener Rohit Shrama at No 3 didn't produce great results for India.
Many former cricketers and experts have criticised the team management for demoting Rohit and it remains to be seen whether the star opener will bat at his regular position in the upcoming match or not.
"That's the role he (Rohit Sharma) plays in T20 cricket and Virat Kohli is either an opener or No. 3. I think KL Rahul would have been able to play that No. 4 role because he has that ability to change and adapt."Mahela Jayawardene, Former Sri Lankan Captain
Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya, too, hasn't impressed anyone with his performance and Suryakumar Yadav could take his place in the side for the Afghanistan clash if he becomes fit and available for the selection. The team can also look towards the inclusion of ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in the team in place of Varun Chakravarthy, who has failed to deliver under pressure.
Afghanistan Have Won Two Out of Three Matches
On the other hand, Afghanistan has played impressive attacking cricket so far in the tournament and they are high on confidence. The likes of Mohammed Nabi and Rashid Khan will look to use all their T20 experience to challenge an under-confident Indian side.
Young spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman missed the last encounter against Namibia because of his injury and Hamid Hassan, who replaced him, picked up three wickets for just nine runs in four overs. However, Mujeeb is likely to find a place in the Afghanistan's playing XI considering Indian batters struggle against spinners in the last two games.
The likes of Hazratullah Zazai, Ahmed Shahzad, Gulbadin Naib will be also keen to continue their entertaining performances with the bat.
Replacement in Afghanistan Team
Asghar Afghan retired from international cricket after Afghanistan's previous outing, against Namibia and the ICC have approved all-rounder Sharafuddin Ashraf to join the squad in his place.
The 26-year-old Ashraf has played 26 international matches, including nine T20Is.
"The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 approved the replacement of Afghan following concerns over the veteran's mental well-being," the ICC said in a statement.
"Ashraf was a reserve as per the allowance for teams to travel with extra players in view of Covid-19 quarantine requirements," it added.
Sharafuddin has claimed five wickets thus far in his T20I career, claiming figures of 3/27 on debut in the format, back in 2015 against the Netherlands. He last featured for the Afghanistan T20I side in March, against Zimbabwe in Abu Dhabi.
The left-arm orthodox spinner is available for selection for the match against India.
India's Knockout Changes
After losing both their opening matches, India need nothing less than a victory in their remaining three Group 2 fixtures to even be in contention for a spot in the semi-finals. Meaning, a loss on Tuesday night will mean Virat Kohli's men will be knocked out of the tournament.
To stand a chance of entering the next stage, the team needs to win their next three games – against Afghanistan, Scotland and Namibia – by a big margin to be able to bring up their net run rate. However, net run rate will only come into the picture of New Zealand lose any of their remaining three matches, also against Afghanistan, Scotland and Namibia.
(With inputs from IANS)
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