Afghanistan vs. West Indies: First T20I Preview

Afghanistan vs. West Indies: First T20I Preview

Match Details:

Series: Afghanistan vs. West Indies in India, 2019

Venue: Ekana International Cricket Stadium, Lucknow

Date: November 14, 2019

Time: 07:00 p.m. IST

Preview:

After West Indies whitewashed Afghanistan 3-0 in the recently concluded ODI series, they are now on the business to clean sweep the T20I series as well. West Indies have made some changes in their T20 squad, but this should not reflect the results. On the other hand, Afghanistan will be out to restore their ODI series defeat.  

Weather Report:

The forecast shows there is no chance of rain and a full 40 overs game is in the cards.

Pitch Report:

Playing on the same pitch where three ODIs were already played, the wicket is expected to be slower side and should help bowlers in this series.

Injury News/Updates:

Nicholas Pooran has been suspended by ICC for four T20I matches for altering the condition of the ball during the third ODI against Afghanistan and will miss this entire series.

Probable Playing XI:

West Indies:

A few changes are made in West Indies T20I squad for this series Lendl Simmons is back, while Brandon King is expected to make his debut. First-choice wicket-keeper, Nicholas Pooran, is suspended, leaving Denesh Ramdin as the choice. The onus of pick early breakthroughs will be Sheldon Cottrell and Alzarri Joseph.

Predicted XI: Evin Lewis, Lendl Simmons, Brandon King, Denesh Ramdin (WK), Shimron Hetmyer, Kieron Pollard (C), Jason Holder, Khary Pierre, Hayden Walsh

Match Details:

Series: Afghanistan vs. West Indies in India, 2019

Venue: Ekana International Cricket Stadium, Lucknow

Date: November 14, 2019

Time: 07:00 p.m. IST

Preview:

After West Indies whitewashed Afghanistan 3-0 in the recently concluded ODI series, they are now on the business to clean sweep the T20I series as well. West Indies have made some changes in their T20 squad, but this should not reflect the results. On the other hand, Afghanistan will be out to restore their ODI series defeat.  

Weather Report:

The forecast shows there is no chance of rain and a full 40 overs game is in the cards.

Pitch Report:

Playing on the same pitch where three ODIs were already played, the wicket is expected to be slower side and should help bowlers in this series.

Injury News/Updates:

Nicholas Pooran has been suspended by ICC for four T20I matches for altering the condition of the ball during the third ODI against Afghanistan and will miss this entire series.

Probable Playing XI:

West Indies:

A few changes are made in West Indies T20I squad for this series Lendl Simmons is back, while Brandon King is expected to make his debut. First-choice wicket-keeper, Nicholas Pooran, is suspended, leaving Denesh Ramdin as the choice. The onus of pick early breakthroughs will be Sheldon Cottrell and Alzarri Joseph.

Predicted XI: Evin Lewis, Lendl Simmons, Brandon King, Denesh Ramdin (WK), Shimron Hetmyer, Kieron Pollard (C), Jason Holder, Khary Pierre, Hayden Walsh Jr., Sheldon Cottrell, Alzarri Joseph

Afghanistan:

Rashid Khan will lead in this series after facing a whitewash in the recently concluded ODI series. The biggest change in this series is the absence of in-form Ikram Ali Khil, leaving Rahmanullah Gurbaz with the gloves. Hazratullah Zazai, Asghar Afghan, and Mohammad Nabi will have the duty of scoring runs in bulk.

Predicted XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Hazratullah Zazai, Asghar Afghan, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan (C), Sharafuddin Ashraf, Farid Malik, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Top Picks:

Wicket-keeper: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (8.5 credits)

With Nicholas Pooran suspended for this series so, the only best available option is Gurbaz in this section. The 17-year-old has played four matches where he scored 133 runs at an average of 33.25, and scoring at a strike-rate of 134.34 with a century and a half-century already to his name.

Batsman: Hazratullah Zazai (9 credits)

Zazai had a below-average ODI series where he scored just 82 runs in three matches, but finished the series with a high note by scoring a half-century, and is now back to his preferred format. Zazai smashed 470 runs in just 10 matches at an average of 52.22, making him an obvious pick for this game.

All-rounder: Mohammad Nabi (10 credits)

The experienced all-rounder scored 1,291 runs and has taken 69 wickets in his 67 T20I matches for his side. Looking at his recent performance in the ODI series, he scored 83 runs in three matches, marking a poor series for him, though he's no less a talisman for Afghanistan.

Bowler: Sheldon Cottrell (9 credits)

Cottrell is in good form and is coming into this series after claiming four wickets in two matches in recently concluded ODI series. As the wicket is expected to be slow, and his accurate line and length could be just enough for an Afghan collapse.

Captaincy options: Hazratullah Zazai, Brandon King, Mohammad Nabi

Dream11 team:

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are of the author and is not a reflection of the actual points you might earn.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ajay Patil
Ajay Patil writes about fantasy cricket and soccer for RotoWire. He has been active in DFS cricket, NBA and soccer since 2015.
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