India will host Afghanistan for a bilateral series of 3 matches, which is their final T20I assignment before the upcoming 20-over World Cup in June.
The spotlight will be only on the returning Rohit Sharma as his long-time colleague Virat Kohli pulled out of the opening T20I against Afghanistan due to "personal reasons" ahead of the first ever white-ball series between the two teams.
Kohli, though, will be available for the second and third T20 International.
India head coach Rahul Dravid attributed Kohli's pull-out to "family reasons" before he addressed media.
Both the stalwarts are returning to the shortest format after 14 months and will be keenly observed in the three-match rubber, which 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.
However, the final 15 will be picked on the basis of core group's performance in the IPL, which precedes the World Cup.
Dravid said Rohit will open the batting with young Yashasvi Jaiswal against Afghanistan.
Rohit and Kohli, after he returns, are a certainty in this squad but the accomplished duo would first like to get the most out of the games against Afghanistan, who would be without their star spinner Rashid Khan.
When will the first T20I between India and Afghanistan take place?
The first T20I of the 3-match series between India and Afghanistan will be played on January 11.
Where will the series-opener be played?
The first T20I between India and Afghanistan will be played at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.
What time will the match start?
The toss will take place at 6.30 pm IST while the first ball will be bowled at 7 pm.
Where can I stream the IND vs AFG 1st T20I?
You can watch the match live online on the Jio Cinema website and mobile application for free.
Which TV channel will broadcast the match live?
Sports 18 Network will broadcast the India vs Afghanistan T20Is live in India.
IND & AFG squads:
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Yashavi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar.
Afghanistan Squad: Ibrahim Zadran (Captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen Ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem, Qais Ahmad, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan.
