Abu Dhabi: Afghanistan have won the toss and asked India to bowl first in their Super Four match in the ongoing Asia Cup here at Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday.
With India’s stand-in skipper being rested ahead of the final match, former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be at the helm of the team for the 200th time.
Following the toss, Dhoni said, ” Both our openers are missing. Bhuvi, Bumrah, and Chahal are missing too. The bench strength is important and when it comes to their talent, they’re up there.”
Reflecting on getting his 200th cap as a captain, Dhoni said that “it is just destiny.”
Afghanistan captain Asghar Afghan, on the other hand, stated that Indians are pretty good against spin bowling which is why they are looking forward to putting a good total on the board.
“They are good against spin, so that’s why we want to put scores and put them under pressure,” Afghan said.
While India has kept a good chunk of players out of the match, including Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Jasprit Bumrah, Afghanistan has made just two changes in their squad.
India have brought in KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Khallel Ahmed, Siddharth Kaul and debutant Deepak Chahar in the team at the place of missing players.
Having already booked their place in the final of the Asia Cup, India would look to test their bench strength in the low-pressure match.
[source_without_link]IANS[/source_without_link]