New Delhi [India], January 11 (ANI): Ahead of the 1st T20I on Thursday, Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott said that the team has a plan to deal with star Indian batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the three-match series.
Kohli and Rohit will make their first T20I appearance since featuring against England in the T20 World Cup in 2022. With the World Cup 2024 just a few months away, India will be keen to have the quality of both batters in the team.
“Any side that India selects is strong. Add to that the likes of Rohit and Virat, and they have been world-class players for a while. We are fortunate enough to have players who have played quite a lot of cricket against them in the IPL. The other guys have watched them on TV, so there will definitely be some plans for them. It’s about executing those plans and making sure that on the day we are ready to do that,” Trott told JioCinema.
Afghanistan would need to pull out their A game against the hosts in their maiden tour of India. Trott stated that in order to stay ahead of the Men in Blue, they need to be better in all three aspects of the game.
“We need to be better in all three facets of the game. We need to win those key moments under pressure. That’s what today’s practice is all about, so that players are ready to perform whenever they get the opportunity to make an impact in a game,” Trott added.
In the first game of the three-match series, Kohli won’t be a part of the playing XI after head coach Rahul Dravid confirmed in the pre-match press conference that the experienced batter would miss the opener due to personal reasons.
Afghanistan’s maiden bilateral series will kick off on Thursday in Mohali. The second game will be played on January 14 in Indore, and the series will conclude on January 17 in Bengaluru.
Afghanistan squad: Ibrahim Zadran (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ikram Alikhil (WK), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmaullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen Ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem, Qais Ahmad, Gulbadin Naib and Rashid Khan. (ANI)
