Picking a combined India-Afghanistan playing 11 for 2024 T20 World Cup ft. Fazalhaq Farooqi, Hardik Pandya
Team India will take on Afghanistan in their first ICC Men's 2024 T20 World Cup Super 8 match at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados on Thursday, June 20. While the Men in Blue topped Group A with seven points, Afghanistan finished second in Group C with six.
India impressed in the group stage under challenging batting conditions in New York. They got the better of Ireland by eight wickets in their opening game. In their subsequent two matches, they beat Pakistan by six runs and United States by seven wickets before their game against Canada in Florida was abandoned due to wet outfield.
Looking at Afghanistan, they won their first three matches in the group stage. They thumped Uganda by 125 runs in Guyana before registering an 84-run win against New Zealand at the same venue. Afghanistan confirmed their place in the Super 8 with a seven-wicket win over Papua New Guinea before going down to West Indies by 104 runs.
Ahead of the Afghanistan vs India 2024 T20 World Cup Super 8 clash, we pick a combined XI of the two sides based on the form of players in the ongoing tournament.
Openers: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rohit Sharma (c)
Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz and India's Rohit Sharma would be the openers in the combined XI for the 2024 T20 World Cup. Gurbaz has been dismissed cheaply in the team's last two games. Before that, he smashed 76 off 45 balls against Uganda and 80 off 56 deliveries versus New Zealand.
Under tough batting conditions in New York, Rohit began his World Cup campaign with a hard-fought 52 off 37 against Ireland. In the match against Pakistan and United States, he was dismissed for 13 and three respectively. The Indian skipper would be confident of putting up a much better show in the Super 8, with matches to be played in West Indies.
Middle-order & All-rounders: Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Gulbadin Naib, Hardik Pandya, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan
Rishabh Pant would be the keeper-batter in the combined India-Afghanistan playing XI. The 26-year-old impressed both behind the stumps and in front of it in the group stage. He scored 36* against Ireland and followed it up with 42 against Pakistan. Pant has also taken seven catches in three matches.
After being dismissed for single-figure scores against Ireland and Pakistan, Suryakumar Yadav came up with a crucial half-century in the chase against USA. In pursuit of 111, the Men in Blue were in a spot of bother at 39-3. However, Suryakumar hit 50* off 49 balls to guide the team home.
Like Suryakumar, veteran Afghanistan all-rounder Gulbadin Naib also made a poor start to his 2024 T20 World Cup campaign. He, however, contributed a significant 49* against Papua New Guinea and chipped in with two wickets in the match against West Indies.
The combined India-Afghanistan XI features three quality all-rounders in Hardik Pandya, Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan. Pandya has excelled with the ball, claiming seven wickets in three matches with his pace bowling. He exploited the conditions in New York brilliantly. Veteran Nabi has played a couple of handy cameos and starred with 2-16 in the win over New Zealand.
Afghanistan captain Rashid had a tough time against West Indies, going for 45 runs in his four overs without claiming a wicket. However, he had done a much better job in the earlier games. The leg-spinner picked up 2-12 against Uganda and then starred with 4-17 against New Zealand. He would also be keen to contribute with the bat in the Super 8 stage.
Bowlers: Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Fazalhaq Farooqi
India's Jasprit Bumrah would be the lead pacer in the combined XI, while left-arm pacers Arshdeep Singh and Fazalhaq Farooqi would be the other pacers. Bumrah has picked up five wickets in three innings at an exceptional economy rate of 4.09.
Arshdeep has claimed seven scalps in three innings at an average of 10.71. He was Player of the Match in the win over United States, registering superb figures of 4-9. Farooqi has also done a wonderful job with the ball. He is currently the leading wicket-taker in the competition, having claimed 12 scalps in four matches at an average of 6.67.