IND Vs AFG, Super 8 T20 World Cup: What Captains Rohit Sharma, Rashid Khan Said At Toss

India skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat first in their Group 1 Super 8 match against Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup 2024 at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados.  (Scorecard | Live Blog)

The big news from the toss was that India had included left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI and pacer Mohammed Siraj had to make way. Talking about the pitch, Rohit reckoned that it will be better than New York.

"Looks alright at this moment, looks a good track. No grass on the pitch, I guess it will get slower. It's better than New York," said the Indian captain when asked about the Kensington Oval pitch. This is the first time India are playing a game outside New York in this competition.

After playing their first three games in New York, India were supposed to play Canada in Florida but the match was abandoned due to wet outfield.

Rohit also underlined the importance of adapting quickly to the new conditions.

"We have to adapt to the conditions quickly. We have been here for a couple of days, we have played a lot of cricket. It's about understanding what we need to do in conditions like these," the Indian skipper said.

He finished by informing about the inclusion of Kuldeep in the playing XI.

Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan also said that he wanted to bat first. The leg-spinner then talked about the importance of playing natural game against the big teams.

"It's more about how you play the game in T20s. Happy with our preparations and how things have gone. We are facing good teams, need to control our emotions and play our natural game," said Rashid.

Rashid then informed about the one change Afghans had in their line-up.

"We have one change, Karim Janat is not playing, (Hazratullah) Zazai comes in."

India Vs Afghanistan Playing XIs

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah

Afghanistan (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Gulbadin Naib, Najibullah Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan(c), Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi