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KL Rahul will lead Team India in his first T20I as captain against Afghanistan in their final game of the 2022 Asia Cup in Dubai on Thursday (September 8).
Full-time captain Rohit Sharma has decided to take a break with two big series against Australia and South Africa coming up and the T20 World Cup taking place later this year.
The Men in Blue and Afghanistan have already been knocked out of the Asia Cup as both teams have failed to register a win in the Super Four phase. However, this is a crucial game for Team India, with questions being raised about the positions of KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant in the squad for the T20 World Cup.
Fans on Twitter were surprised to see Rahul lead the team in Rohit Sharma's absence. Some also trolled Sharma for asking for a break despite being rested over the past few months. Here are some of the reactions:
KL Rahul might be under a bit of pressure against Afghanistan
Rahul had to undergo surgery for a groin injury after IPL 2022. His comeback to the Indian team was delayed after he tested positive for COVID-19 just before the T20I against West Indies.
Quite a few eyebrows were raised when the 30-year-old was named India's vice-captain for the Asia Cup. Questions were also asked after Rahul had a poor series with the bat against Zimbabwe.
The Indian vice-captain hasn't had an impressive outing in the Asia Cup. This is why his performance against Afghanistan is crucial, with the T20 World Cup squad set to be announced in the next few days.
Lineups:
India XI: KL Rahul (c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Deepak Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh.
Afghanistan XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Karim Janat, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
