Dharamshala, June 13 (IANS) India have handed debuts to left-arm spin bowling all-rounder Harsh Dubey and fast bowler Gurnoor Brar as skipper Shubman Gill won the toss and elected to bowl first in the rain‑hit first ODI against Afghanistan at the HPCA Stadium on Saturday.

The toss finally took place after a delay of four hours and 15 minutes due to rain. The match will be played as a 25‑overs‑a‑side contest and will start at 5:45 pm. India have also slotted KL Rahul at number three in Virat Kohli’s absence, while a returning Ishan Kishan will take keeping duties.

“It's a bit overcast, so the bowlers might get some help. Looks like a good surface, good wicket to bat on, could be something early on for the pacers. It's all about trying different combinations to see what works for us. We're playing around 15-20 ODIs before the World Cup, so it's about trying things. Jaiswal, Prince, and Kuldeep miss out,’ said Gill.

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said they are playing with three seamers, including an all-rounder and three spinners. “If we had won the toss, we also wanted to bowl first, but again, the toss is not in our hands, and we need to start well right from the start of the game.

“We did very well in the recent past, but at the same time, it's the first time we are playing India in their own condition. So it's been a tough battle for both sides, and we are excited and ready for that challenge, and hopefully we do well here.”

Playing XIs

India: Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), Ishan Kishan (wk), Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Dubey, Harsh Dubey, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh, and Prasidh Krishna

Afghanistan: Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Rashid Khan, Mohammad Saleem Safi, AM Ghazanfar, and Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi

--IANS

nr/bsk/