Afghanistan vs India Live Score, 1st T20I: Will India pick Sooryavanshi over Samson in Delhi?

Afghanistan are the hosts. India are visitors. Still, both the teams will play their cricket in New Delhi.

The three-match T20I series will be held at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, where Afghanistan are technically the home team and India will occupy the dressing room for the visitors. It is an unusual arrangement, although Afghanistan has previously used India as a home base. However, this will be the first time they will host India on Indian soil.

Ibrahim Zadran’s side will have the status of hosts, although the newly appointed Afghanistan captain said he had not made any special demands regarding the terms.

India arrived in Delhi on Wednesday to prepare for what is technically an away series. But apart from the unusual home and away stickers, there is something more significant about this competition.

Shreyas Iyer has an almost full squad at his disposal with Jasprit Bumrah fit and firing. Notable absences are Hardik Pandya and Harshit Rana, but India have otherwise put together their strongest T20I squad since winning the World Cup earlier this year.

That’s quite an excuse for a three-game back-to-back series.

The reason lies just around the corner. India will head to Japan after the Asian Games series in Afghanistan starting on September 19 in Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya. With a 2028 Olympic berth at stake for the gold medalists, the BCCI has decided not to take the competition lightly, unlike several other South Asian teams that have opted for weakened squads.

India could also do with some momentum. Their T20I results since their World Cup triumph have been patchy, with defeats in Ireland and England before recovering a bit in Zimbabwe.

This makes Afghanistan an important final test. They are among the most dangerous sides in T20 cricket and offer India a competitive opportunity to fine-tune their game ahead of the Asian Games.

The preparations in Delhi indicate that India is serious about this. Bumrah was bowling at full strength, the batsmen were getting longer and new coach Subhadeep Ghosh was already testing the team. Even light rain in the evening didn’t disrupt India’s plan too much as they completed two full sessions and an optional practice session.

So yes, Afghanistan are the hosts and India are the visitors.

But for Shreyas Iyer and his team, this strange little domestic arrangement is much more about which dressing room they use.