India win toss, choose to field first in 1st T20I against Afghanistan

In the opening Twenty20 International of the three-match series against Afghanistan at Mohali on Thursday, Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to field first. This is the first-ever bilateral series in any format between these two sides. Due to personal reasons, captain Rohit has made his T20I comeback after a one-year absence, while Virat Kohli will not participate in the match. Rashid Khan, a well-known spinner from Afghanistan, is also skipping the series.

Rohit said at the toss, “We will bowl first. There is no particular reason; the pitch is good and it does not change a lot here. There is a lot to gain from the three games. We have not had too much T20 cricket leading up to the World Cup. There is the IPL, but this is an international game and we will try to achieve a few things. I had a chat with Rahul (Dravid) Bhai regarding the combination going forward and what we need to do as a group. That is what we’ll try to do, but winning is the most important thing. Sanju Samson, Avesh, Yashashvi (who did not pull off well) miss out.”