India vs Afghanistan 1st T20I: After their eventful tour against South Africa, the Indian contingent is now back on home turf as they are set to face Afghanistan in a three-match T20I series, with the first T20I to be played on Thursday, January 11, at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.

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This is the very first white-ball series to be played between these two teams, and it is also India's last white-ball series before the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 scheduled to be played in June this year.

The highlight of the series has to be the inclusion of skipper Rohit Sharma and star batter Virat Kohli into the Indian squad. Both Kohli and Sharma made their return to the T20I format of the game after 14 months, and it will also be the first time they will be playing the white-ball format of the game after the conclusion of the ODI World Cup in November last year.

The team does lack T20 experts like Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya, who have been sidelined due to injury, and also the shocking exclusion of wicketkeeper batter Ishan Kishan, who had been in good touch in recent times. Jitesh Sharma and Sanju Samson have been named the keeper options for India in this series.

Rinku Singh, who has been a revelation in the T20 format, has been included in the squad and can prove to play a vital role in the middle order in the absence of both Hardik and Surya.

Though the squad has bragging rights with fresh talent like Yashasvi Jaiswal, it is expected that Shubman Gill will open the batting along with skipper Rohit. However, across all formats, Gill wasn't able to pile up runs in the Rainbow Nation, and young Jaiswal can have his name called ahead of Gill in the playing 11.

India does boast a decent bowling line-up as well, with Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, and Mukesh Kumar being the main pacer options and Kuldeep Yadav leading the spin attack along with Ravi Bishnoi, Axar Patel, and Washington Sundar. It is expected to be a cakewalk for the Men in Blues to win the series at home, but it will be unwise to take the Afghans lightly.

After their recent performance in the ODI World Cup, where they exceeded all expectations, Afghanistan is confident going into the format that suits them the most.

Their star spinner, Rashid Khan, is part of the squad but might not start the series. The team is also back to full strength after Mujeeb Zadran, Naveen-Ul Haq, and Fazalhaq Farooqi sorted out their contractual issues with the Afghan cricket board.

Opener Ibrahim Zadran, who had been a phenomenal batter during the ODI World Cup, will be leading the Afghan side in the series. Zadran is also the first Afghan player to score a century in the World Cup, which he managed to achieve in the ODI World Cup last year in a match against Australia. He will be partnered with keeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who has also been in great form.

Here's a quick look at the schedule, venue, live streaming, TV channel, and squad details of the first match of the IND vs AFG T20I series—

India vs Afghanistan 1st T20I Live Streaming: When will the 1st T20I match between India and Afghanistan be played? Match Date

The first T20I match between India and Afghanistan will be played on Thursday, January 11.

India vs Afghanistan 1st T20I: When will the 1st T20I match between India and Afghanistan start? Match Time in IST

The first T20I match between India and Afghanistan will begin at 7:00 PM (IST).

India vs Afghanistan 1st T20I: Where will the IND vs AFG T20I series 1st match be played? Match Venue

The first T20I match between India and Afghanistan is scheduled to be played at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.

India vs Afghanistan 1st T20I Live Streaming: Where can fans watch the live broadcast of the 1st T20I match between India and Afghanistan?

Fans can also watch the first T20I match between India and Afghanistan on the Sports 18 network.

Here's the full schedule for the India vs Afghanistan T20I series:

IND vs AFG 1st T20I in Mohani on Thursday, January 11 at 7:00 PM (IST).
IND vs AFG 2nd T20I in Indore on Sunday, January 14 at 7:00 PM (IST)
IND vs AFG 3rd T20I in Bengaluru on Wednesday, January 17 at 7:00 PM (IST)

India vs Afghanistan 1st T20I: Squad Details

India Squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar.

Afghanistan Squad: Ibrahim Zadran (Captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen Ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem, Qais Ahmad, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan.