IND vs AFG: Who replaces Varun Chakravarthy in second T20, will Vaibhav Suryavanshi get a chance?
India must make at least one change to their playing XI for the second T20 against Afghanistan after Varun Chakravarthy was ruled out with injury.
The second match of the T20 series between India and Afghanistan will be played today at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium, the same venue where the first match was held. Team India has already won the first match, and captains usually do not like to change a winning team. But this time, the Shreyas Iyer-led Team India will have to make at least one change to its playing eleven.
Just a day before the match, Team India suffered a big blow with star spinner Varun Chakravarthy being ruled out of the team. Varun had recovered from an injury only a few days ago, but he has now been injured again. Although the BCCI has not yet announced the name of his replacement, it is believed that Ravi Bishnoi could be given a chance today. In Varun's absence, Bishnoi could prove to be a good option. This means at least one change in the playing eleven is certain.
Whether Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who did not play in the first match, gets a chance today also remains a question. The answer will be known at 7 pm. Vaibhav Suryavanshi made his T20 International debut in England, but he has not yet played a single international match in India. After his debut in England, he also played against Zimbabwe, but he was left out of the team for the first T20 match between India and Afghanistan.
Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson opened the innings in the first match. India won on the back of Abhishek's aggressive batting, but Sanju Samson once again failed to make much of an impact. Samson scored 10 runs off eight balls before getting out.
It remains to be seen whether captain Shreyas Iyer will give Vaibhav his first international match in India or whether Sanju Samson will play this match as well. However, if Samson is dropped from the playing eleven, Ishan Kishan, who bats at number three, could take over the wicketkeeping duties. This decision may have already been made, but it will be revealed at 7 pm when the captains of both teams walk out for the toss.
India's likely team for the second T20 against Afghanistan could be: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (captain), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravi Bishnoi.
