Nitish Kumar Reddy missed out on the playing XI as India take on Afghanistan for the second of the three-match ODI series at home. Nitish was among the three changes made by the hosts, who look to clinch the series at the BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
Apart from Nitish, fast bowler Prasidh Krishna and spin-bowling all-rounder Harsh Dubey also missed out as India handed a debut to speedster Prince Yadav, with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Kuldeep Yadav also returning. India were asked to bat first after Afghanistan won the toss.ย
Gill confirms Nitish had quad issue
Captain Shubman Gill confirmed the changes at the toss, stating that Nitish missed out as he had “some issues with his quad” in a worrying update for the Indian team. With Hardik Pandya already out of the series, the chances were crucial for Nitish and also for India to have a regular back-up to Pandya.ย
“Honestly, we would have bowled first as well, because of our combination,” Gill said at the toss.ย “We were forced to play with only five bowlers in this match. So, just because of that, we would have bowled first as well. It’s all about just being in difficult situations and getting that experience. If you’re chasing, have the habit of chasing the big scores, and if you’re defending, how can we defend those low totals, and how clinical can we be with our bowling.ย
“We have got three changes. Prince makes his debut. Nitish was unavailable for selection in this match. He had some issues with his quad. So we have got Kuldeep and Jaiswal in,” Gill added.
Afghanistan make three changes as well
Meanwhile, Afghanistan also made three changes to their Playing XI for the must-win clash. Mohammad Nabi fell ill and missed out, while Azmatullah Omarzai got injured during the training session, captainย Hashmatullah Shahidi confirmed at the toss.
Afghanistan (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Darwish Rasooli, Rashid Khan, Nangeyalia Kharoti, AM Ghazanfar, Mohammad Saleem Safi, Bilal Sami
India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav
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