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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday announced the squads for the bilateral series against Afghanistan.
The “Men in Blue” will lock horns with the Afghans for a one-off Test match and three ODI games. The Test match will be played from June 6 to 10 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh PCA Stadium in New Chandigarh.
The first match of the three-match ODI series will be played on June 14 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala. The second match will be held on June 17 at the Ekana Cricket Stadium B Ground in Lucknow, and the third match on June 20 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Ahead of the one-off Test match, Team India`s think tank has replaced Rishabh Pant with KL Rahul for the vice-captaincy role.
Following the decision, former Team India cricketer Mohammad Kaif feels that Pant was removed from the vice-captaincy role following his performance in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“Rishabh Pant hasn`t done anything wrong. Red-ball and white-ball cricket are two very different formats. You are judging him based on the IPL, saying that he is not doing a good job as captain, that his team is losing, and that he is not scoring runs. But I believe there is no bigger match-winner for India in Tests, as a batter, than Rishabh Pant. The problem is that people mix the formats,” he said on JioHotstar.
The former cricketer questioned the decision not to select pacer Mohammed Shami. He feels Pant deserved to continue as vice-captain of India`s Test squad.
“Why didn`t Auqib Nabi get the nod? Because he didn`t take wickets in the IPL? These are two completely different formats. KL Rahul is 34 years old. On one hand, you don`t pick Mohammed Shami, saying that age is not on his side and that you are looking at younger players. So, I`d want them to be consistent. Either go by form, regardless of age, and if you are scoring runs or taking wickets, you should get picked. Because I think Rishabh Pant deserved to continue as vice-captain,” said Kaif.
India`s squad for the one-off Test match against Afghanistan
Shubman Gill (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (VC), Sai Sudharsan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey, Dhruv Jurel (WK).
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