3rd T20I Predicted XI: India likely to test bench strength in Bengaluru

Listen to Story India will aim to sweep the T20I series against Afghanistan when they take on the tourists in the third and final T20I at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on January 17, Wednesday. India, who are unbeaten in the 3 match T20I series against Afghanistan so far after registering convincing wins in Mohali and Indore, will be playing their last T20 International game before the T20I World Cup, which begins from June 1.

The Indian team looks like a well balanced side but would look to experiment with their playing XI to test the bench strength and mark out the probable for the marquee tournament. India's batting has been flourishing with the likes of Shivam Dube and Yashasvi Jaiswal emerging as match winners for the team.

However, Indian team management might look to make some changes in their bowling department. Ravi Bishnoi flourished in India's 5 match T20I series against Australia in November 2023, picking up 9 wickets. However, the leg spinner has failed to impress with his bowling in the ongoing series against Afghanistan.

The spinner has leaked runs in both the T20Is against Afghanistan. Team India might replace Bishnoi with left arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav in their playing XI for the second T20I. Notably, Kuldeep had in his last T20I against South Africa. The team management might also give a chance to Sanju Samson, who is likely to replace Jitesh Sharma in the playing XI.

Jitesh produced an impressive performance with the bat in the 1st T20I, scoring a quick fire 31 runs. However, the wicketkeeper batter was dismissed for a duck in the next match. Samson would look to impress the selectors with his performance if given a chance in the third T20I and book a spot in India's squad for the T20 World Cup.

Another change could be to bring in Avesh Khan in place of Mukesh Kumar, who couldn't make an impact in the first 2 matches. The Indian team would look to make the most out of their last T20 international assignment ahead of the marquee tournaments. With the inclusion of the above players in the playing XI, the entire 16 man squad will get a game under their belt.

The Afghanistan team would look to stick with the same combination and would hope the bowlers to trouble the Indian batsmen. The Afghan batters would look to make use of the shorter boundaries of the Chinnaswamy Stadium to their advantage, Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (WK), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh Ibrahim Zadran (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen Ul Haq..