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India have won the toss and opted to field first in the first T20I of the three-match series against Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Sunday. Star pacer Jasprit Bumrah returns to the Indian side for his first T20I appearance since IPL 2026, while Vaibhav Sooryavanshi misses out, with wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson coming into the playing XI despite Sooryavanshis impressive performances in the Zimbabwe T20I series.
Notably, this is an away series for India, with Afghanistan designated as the official home side despite the matches being played in Delhi. After winning the toss, captain Shreyas Iyer said India would bowl first, citing Delhis tendency to favour teams bowling first. He also highlighted the positives from the Zimbabwe series and backed Jasprit Bumrah as a match-winner. We are going to bowl first. Whenever you come to Delhi, you know what the pitch has got to offer; it usually is a bowl-first wicket. We had a lot of positives in Zimbabwe; we will try and continue on that. We know Bumrah is a match-winner. Vaibhav is not playing, Washington is not playing, and two more, Iyer said at the toss presentations. Afghanistan captain Ibrahim Zadran said they would also have preferred to bowl first but will now focus on posting a strong total. He described hosting India in Delhi as a great feeling, thanked the fans for their support and said the team hopes to put up a good series. We would have bowled first too. So we will think about batting and look to put up a good total. It is a great feeling to host India in India. We are trying to have a good series against them. We have got lots of support from our friends, and hopefully they come and give us the energy. Naveen is not playing; we will think about him in the next games, he said. India vs Afghanistan 1st T20I playing 11s: India: Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer(c), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy. Afghanistan: Ibrahim Zadran(c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi. (ANI)
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