Rashid Khan Ruled Out Of T20I Series Against India, Confirms Skipper Ibrahim Zadran

The return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to the T20 format after 14 months will be keenly observed when India face a dangerous Afghanistan in the first ever white-ball series between the two teams, beginning here on Thursday. The three-match contest will be India's last before the T20 World Cup in June, giving the team more clarity on where it stands ahead of the ICC event in Americas. However, the final 15 will be picked on the core group's performance in the IPL, which precedes the World Cup.

Rohit and Kohli, now that they are back in the T20 setup, are a certainty in that squad but the accomplished duo would first like to get the most out of the games against Afghanistan, who would be without their star spinner Rashid Khan.

Khan underwent a back surgery in November last year and is still recuperating.

"He is not totally fit. We will miss him in the series. We will struggle without Rashid but one should be ready for any kind of situation," Afghanistan captain Ibrahim Zadran said in the pre-match press conference here, hoping that others in the side would step up.

The focus, however, will firmly be on the two India greats, easily among the biggest crowd-pullers. Their presence on the field would be a big reason for the Mohali crowd to brave the prevailing cold wave.

Rohit, who will also captain the side, will be expected to carry on with his ultra aggressive approach in the powerplay like he showed in the ODI World Cup. Kohli, on the other hand, will look to up his strike rate in the middle overs as the modern game doesn't have room for anchors anymore.

The team, having returned from South Africa last week, will only assemble by Wednesday evening for the series-opener on Thursday evening.

Though the likes of Yashasvi