India vs Afghanistan: 3 Problems India might face against Afghanistan
Afghanistan will play their first ever Test match against India from 14 June at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. It will be a historic Test match considering that Afghanistan is making their debut in Test Cricket. Even though India’s regular Test captain Virat Kohli is not available, it will be a game to look out for as Afghanistan can give India a fight in the one-off Test. Ajinkya Rahane will be captaining India for the second time in a Test match as he did so against Australia in Dharamshala in 2017.
Interestingly, Dinesh Karthik is making a Test comeback after 8 years as he has replaced the injured Wriddhiman Saha. Afghanistan have really talented spinners and thus, India will have to think twice if they are planning to make a square turner. Even though India start as favourites, they might face some problems in the match.
Let’s have a look at 3 such problems.
#3 Who will be the Openers?
India is spoiled for choice when it comes to the selection of the two openers. India are the no.1 Test side in the ICC Test rankings but still don’t have their opening combination settled. One of KL Rahul or Shikhar Dhawan might have to face the axe as Murali Vijay looks like one of the openers. He has been consistent for India over the years, even in overseas conditions and so he will definitely be picked in the starting XI.
The second choice would be difficult as both of them didn’t perform well in South Africa in the Tests. Dhawan played only the first Test match whereas Rahul played the other two. However, both of them did pretty well in the IPL so that makes the pick even more difficult. India will have to solve this problem before leaving for England or else India’s opening combination will keep failing in England as well.