In the opening T20I of the three-match series against Afghanistan on Thursday in Mohali, India’s captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and chose to field. This T20I marks the initiation of the first bilateral series between India and Afghanistan, as aside from World Cup and continental events, the two teams have not engaged in a series before. Although they previously played a one-off Test, this marks a significant development. During the toss, Rohit, who returned to the T20I side after a 14-month hiatus, announced that players like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Kuldeep Yadav would not be part of the series opener.

Rohit Sharma’s comments contradicted India’s head coach Rahul Dravid, who, on the eve of the game, had stated that Yashasvi Jaiswal would open the innings alongside the experienced batsman.

“We will bowl first. No particular reason, the pitch is good and it doesn’t change a lot here. A lot to gain from the 3 games, we haven’t had too much T20 cricket leading to the World Cup, there’s IPL, but this is an international game and we’ll try to achieve a few things. I had a chat with Rahul bhai regarding the combination going forward and what we need to do as a group. That’s what we’ll try to do, but winning is the most important thing. Sanju Samson, Avesh, Yashashvi (who didn’t pull off well) and Kuldeep miss out,” Rohit said at the toss.

UPDATE: Mr Yashasvi Jaiswal was unavailable for selection for the first T20I due to a sore right groin.#INDvAFG

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— BCCI (@BCCI) January 11, 2024

Immediately after the toss, the BCCI provided a medical update on Yashasvi Jaiswal, stating that he was not available for selection due to a groin issue.

“Mr Yashasvi Jaiswal was unavailable for selection for the first T20I due to a sore right groin.,” the BCCI statement read.

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