IND vs AFG 2026 1st ODI: Shubman Gill’s side will have to ring in plenty of changes for the first ODI vs Afghanistan in Dharamshala on Saturday with Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya ruled out of the series due to injuries.
Updated: June 13, 2026, 9:15 AM IST
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Rohit Sharma bats in the nets in Dharamshala on Friday. (Photo: PTI)
IND vs AFG 2026 1st ODI Predicted 11: Team India will be heading into the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan starting at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala on Saturday with a less than ideal side, weakened with injuries to star cricketers Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya.
Kohli has been ruled out of the entire ODI series vs the Afghans due to a hamstring injury suffered during his stint with Royal Challengers Benagluru in the IPL 2026 season. Hardik, who was set to play his first ODI match in more than a year – he had last played in ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final in Dubai – has also been ruled out due to quadriceps injury suffered during his fitness test at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) last week.
While Yashasvi Jaiswal has been selected in place of Kohli for the series, he is unlikely to find a spot in the playing 11 for the first ODI as Indians are likely to try out Ishan Kishan at the number three position. With Kishan in the side, KL Rahul – who has been Team India’s wicketkeeper in the ODI format – is likely to give up the gloves for this series as well.
“In terms of that number three slot, that’s something that in this series we’ll play around with. Even if it’s Ishan or KL or Yashasvi, it’s a nice opportunity now. We’ve got a couple of one-day games coming up and we’ll give guys opportunity in different slots. Just to give ourselves a better idea in terms of how we can go and structure the team and have different options,” Team India bowling coach Morne Morkel said in the pre-match press conference in Dharamshala on Friday.
Sunrisers Hyderabad all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy is likely to step into the role of Hardik Pandya for the ODI series. The BCCI selectors haven’t named any replacement for Pandya in the squad yet. “When the players get the opportunity to work and develop their own game, look at areas where they can improve. And Nitish did that. It was from a technical point of view to get him a little bit better at the crease, more balanced, so the energy flows down the wicket,” Morkel said about Reddy.
“In both departments, there’s improvement. So, yeah, we’re excited for him to get an opportunity and see how he puts that together on an international stage. And, yeah, it’s always nice to have that extra helping hand,” he added.
Rohit Sharma, who also cleared a fitness Test at the CoE last week after suffering a hamstring injury during IPL 2026, is set to open the batting with his skipper Shubman Gill. Rohit will break the Indian record of becoming the oldest ever to represent Team India in an ODI match at 39 years and 44 days of age.
Former India all-rounder Mohinder Amarnath held this record earlier with his last ODI game in 1989 coming at the age of 39 years and 36 days.
With both Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah rested for the ODI series, one between Lucknow Super Giants pacer Prince Yadav and Gurnoor Brar from Gujarat Titans is set to make his India debut. “My first impressions, it is sort of, almost like they’ve been part of the squad for five years. I saw no nervousness in their face. Although, I can imagine coming into the squad, they would be pretty nervous. But I think the way they’ve gone about their training, the energy they’ve trained with, was very, very nice and good to see.
“In terms of their skills, I can also see that they’ve done a lot of work on that. They’re on the money, accurate. And that makes my life a little bit easier. Obviously, from here on, we’ll develop their game and sort of have conversations of how we can play that middle phase and work our plays in the death,” Morkel said.
For Afghanistan, Rashid Khan has joined the ODI squad while pacer Mohammad Saleem has also been drafted into the team after his impressive showing in the one-off Test in Mullanpur.
Only Test ✅
ODIs ⏳#ShubmanGill & Co. return to the ODI setup as India takes on Afghanistan in the 1st ODI at Dharamshala.Will the Men in Blue make a winning start to the series? #INDvAFG | 1st ODI | SAT, 13th JUN, 12.30 PM pic.twitter.com/qDCto62Wuh
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) June 13, 2026
India vs Afghanistan 2026 1st ODI match Predicted 11
India: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav/Gurnoor Brar
Afghanistan: Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Rashid Khan, Mohammad Saleem, AM Ghazanfar, Ziaur Rahman
