As the new year rolls in, the cricketing world will shift its focus from the recently-concluded World Cup to the next global event on the calendar; the T20 World Cup in June.
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Teams have already begun their preparations for the tournament in earnest, including India. After series against Australia and South Africa, the Men in Blue will play a three-match T20I series against Afghanistan in January as their last matches ahead of the T20 World Cup.
The series is set to begin on January 11 in Mohali, and the burning question is whether Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will play in the series, and by extension the World Cup.
When will India squad for Afghanistan T20I series be announced?
There had been reports earlier this week that Rohit would captain India against Afghanistan while Kohli would be left out of the side. However, newer reports on Saturday suggested that both players would be included in the squad for the series. It is worth noting that neither one has played a T20 for India since November 2022.
MORE: What time does India's 2024 T20 World Cup matches start?
It was also rumoured that the BCCI would announce the squad for the Afghanistan series on Friday, January 5 but as it turned out, the board did not announce it on that day. According to journalist Nikhil Naz of Sports Today, the squad will be announced on Sunday, January 7 but there is a "small chance" that it could be released on Saturday night.
India have been placed in a group with Pakistan, Ireland, Canada and USA for the T20 World Cup. They will open their campaign against Ireland on June 5, and take on Pakistan in New York on June 9.
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