Big guns return
The return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to the T20 format after 14 months will be keenly observed as India face a dangerous Afghanistan in first T20I in Mohali on Thursday.
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Maiden white-ball series
The three T20Is are the first ever white-ball series between India and Afghanistan.
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Final T20 World Cup preparations
The series will be India's last before the T20 World Cup in June, giving the team more clarity on where it stands ahead of the ICC event in Americas.
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IPL performances to be considered
The final 15 will however be picked on the core group's performance in the IPL, which precedes the World Cup.
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Rohit and Kohli back after 14 months
Rohit and Kohli, now that they are back in the T20 setup, are a certainty in the T20 World Cup squad but the accomplished duo would first like to get the most out of the games against Afghanistan.
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Rohit to lead
Rohit, who will also captain the side, will be expected to carry on with his ultra aggressive approach in the powerplay like he showed in the ODI World Cup.
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Kohli's strike-rate in focus
Kohli, on the other hand, will look to up his strike rate in the middle overs as the modern game doesn't have room for anchors anymore.
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Team to assemble by Wednesday evening
The team, having returned from South Africa last week, will only assemble by Wednesday evening for the series-opener on Thursday evening.
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Eyes on Rinku
Rinku Singh has proved his worth in the South African conditions and will be a key player for India in the middle-order, especially in the absence of the injured duo of Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya.
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The giant killers
Having recently exceeded all expectations in their giant-killing run during the ODI World Cup in India, Afghanistan will be high on confidence in a format that suits them the most.
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Rashid ruled out of series
Afghanistan will be without their star spinner Rashid Khan, who underwent a back surgery in November last year and is still recuperating.
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