The first T20I between India and Afghanistan will take place on January 11 in Mohali. Rohit Sharma is back with the team and will lead the side. On the other hand, Virat Kohli is also with the team. These two superstars have made their comebacks since the T20 World Cup 2022 for the first time in a shorter format.

This will be the last T20 series for India ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024, which will be held in the USA and West Indies. They will be playing test series against England and IPL 2024 after this. The Indian selection committee has given rest to some of their key players in this series. However, just ahead of the first game, India suffered a major blow.

Virat Kohli is all set to miss the first game due to personal issues. The former Indian captain, who was likely to make his T20I return in the first match, will now be available for the second game on January 14 in Indore. Indian head coach Rahul Dravid confirmed the news in the pre-match media conference on Wednesday.

He also confirmed that Rohit will open the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal. It means that Shubman Gill will be batting at No. 3. Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan have been dropped, while Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav have been ruled out due to injuries.