Team India will take on Afghanistan in the opening match of the three-match T20I series at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on January 11, Thursday.
Indian cricketers were practicing hard in the nets ahead of the 1st T20I against visiting Afghanistan. However, the cold weather at IS Bindra Stadium kept the Men in Blue shivering throughout the practice session. The temperature in Mohali is around 13 degree Celsius. Since T20I series opener takes place in the evening, Mohali's weather is expected to be cold.
In a video shared by BCCI on X handle (formerly Twitter), players were seen practicing in cold Mohali weather and each of them gave hilarious take on the challenges. Axar Patel, Rinku Singh, Avesh Khan, Shivam Dube, and Team India head coach Rahul Dravid spoke about not being used to such a cold condition.
Punjab boys Arshdeep Singh and Shubman Gill bantered about not feeling cold while Chennai cricketer Washington Sundar humorously said that he is 'habitual' to cold weather. With a fog covering the entire stadium due to dip in temperature, Avesh Khan can be heard saying there is no sky, only smoke.
.jpeg)
The temperature in Mohali is usually be low during the month of December and January. During the first T20I between India and Afghanistan, the temperature at IS Bindra Stadium is likely to dip further.
Rohit Sharma to lead India T20I team for the first time in 14 months
Rohit Sharma is set to make his comeback to India T20I side as a captain after a long gap of 14 months for the three-match series against Afghanistan.
The last time Rohit led Men in Blue in the shortest format was in the T20 World Cup 2022 semifinal against England. Since then, he took a back seat in the T20Is for a while in order to shift focus on Tests and ODIs, keeping in mind the World Test Championship Final and ODI World Cup last year.
The 36-year-old is currently the second leading run-getter in T20Is, amassing 3853, including 4 centuries and 29 half-centuries, at an average of 31.32 in 148 runs.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli also made a comeback to T20I side but he is ruled out of the series opener against Afghanistan due to personal reason. He is expected to be available for selection for the next two matches.
