India vs Afghanistan | Ajinkya Rahane may lead India in absence of Virat Kohli
Ajinkya Rahane is likely to lead India in the one-off Test against Afghanistan in the absence of Virat Kohli, who would be heading to Surrey in June to play county cricket. Dinesh Karthik and Krunal Pandya are also going to be rewarded for their consistent performances with India ‘A’ call-up.
The national selection committee will be announcing 6 different India squads on May 8 which includes one-off Test against Afghanistan, India ‘A’ team for tour of England, ‘A’ team for tri-series involving England ‘A’ and West Indies ‘A’, T20 squad for the tour of Ireland, T20 squad for the tour of England, One-day squad for matches in England.
Virat Kohli will not be available for the Test match against Afghanistan due to his county stint at the same time and will be joining the India team in the T20 matches against Ireland, followed by the England tour. Kohli will be heading to Surrey in the month of June to play county cricket and will get used to the English conditions for the all-important England tour.
In the absence of Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane will be leading the Indian team in the one-off Test against Afghanistan starting on 14th June in Bengaluru. Cheteshwar Pujara, who recently wrapped up his county stint, has returned back home and will be playing the Afghanistan Test. Regular India names such as Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, and Hardik Pandya will also feature in the match.
Openers KL Rahul and Murali Vijay, along with off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik, and Mumbai Indians’ all-rounder Krunal Pandya are likely to be included in the India ‘A’ team.
Despite the presence of irreplaceable MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik, who has been in top form lately, is expected to be given an important role to play for India in the limited-overs format. He might not be required to do wicket-keeping and would be taken as a pure batsman.
Krunal Pandya, who has been proving himself in the IPL, is likely to be included in the India ‘A’ squad. Given his recent exploits for Mumbai Indians, he also has a very good chance to play for India in the T20Is.
A senior BCCI office-bearer told TOI, “Expect Pandya to be part of India’s T20 team, the way he’s been going about with his game”.
