ICC World Cup 2019 Match 28 India vs Afghanistan: Probable playing XI for India

The Indians have had a brilliant run in the ongoing World Cup so far. Beating South Africa, Australia and Pakistan in their first few encounters, the men in blue certainly come as the team to beat this year. As they look to continue the winning streak in tournament, their next challenge, on Saturday, comes in the form of Afghanistan; a team that has been battered constantly to lie stranded at the last spot of the points table.

While India will be fancying their chances against the Afghans, they would certainly be wary of the threat that Gulbadin Naib and co would pose. With no room for complacency, Virat Kohli's men would be keen on putting forth yet another professional performance and collect two points to march ahead in the race to the semi-finals.

With Shikhar Dhawan ruled out of the tournament due to a thumb injury, all eyes will be on India's selection strategy on Saturday. With Rishabh Pant named as the replacement, there have been raging debates over his chances of being included in the side. However, with Vijay Shankar getting a wicket off his very first ball in the last match, it is likely that he might be given an extended run in the team. With a niggle ruling Bhuvneshwar Kumar out for a few games, Mohammed Shami is expected to partner Jasprit Bumrah in the opening burst.

The rest of the team, on the other hand, looks pretty settled. While Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will once again carry the mantle in the batting order, the spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal is expected to cause plenty of headaches to the Afghanistan batters.

Probable playing XI: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (C), Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni (WK), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah