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India will head into the second T20I against Afghanistan with a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, but the team management could still use the contest to test a few combinations. The second game is scheduled for September 15 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, with India having won the opening encounter by seven wickets.
The Men in Blue produced an impressive all-round performance in the first T20I. Afghanistan were restricted to 156/8 after being reduced to 41/4 inside the powerplay, while India chased the target in only 13.4 overs. Abhishek Sharma smashed 82 off 32 balls, Ishan Kishan contributed 42, and Arshdeep Singh returned excellent figures of 3/19.
Despite the emphatic victory, there are a few areas India could tweak. With the Asian Games also on the horizon, giving opportunities to players who missed the opening game could be beneficial.
Here are 3 changes India should consider for the second T20I against Afghanistan:
The most obvious change would be handing Vaibhav Sooryavanshi his T20I debut in place of Sanju Samson.
Samson returned to the T20I setup for this series and was given the opportunity to open alongside Abhishek Sharma in the first match. However, the Kerala batter managed only 10 runs before being dismissed by Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Meanwhile, Sooryavanshi was left out despite having recently scored an impressive 81 off 49 balls against Zimbabwe. The 15-year-old was also India’s T20I Player of the Match in that series, making his omission from the first game a talking point.
With Abhishek producing a breathtaking 82 in the series opener, India do not necessarily need to change their aggressive approach at the top. Sooryavanshi could open alongside him and offer another fearless stroke-maker during the powerplay.
More importantly, giving him an opportunity would allow India to assess the youngster against a quality Afghanistan attack featuring Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad and Fazalhaq Farooqi.
India could also consider bringing Washington Sundar into the XI in place of Shivam Dube.
Dube was given an opportunity in the first game but did not have much impact with either bat or ball. With India comfortably chasing the target, he did not get enough time at the crease, while the team had sufficient bowling options to complete the innings.
Washington would provide India with another reliable off-spin option and could be particularly useful against Afghanistan’s right-handed middle order. The squad includes both Washington and Ravi Bishnoi, although neither featured in the opening XI.
The move would also give India greater flexibility. Washington can bat in the lower middle order, bowl during the middle overs and provide an additional matchup option against Afghanistan’s batters.
Since India already have several power-hitters, Washington’s all-round skill set could make the XI more balanced without significantly weakening the batting department.
The third change could be Ravi Bishnoi replacing Varun Chakravarthy.
This would be more of a rotation than a reaction to poor performance. Varun was impressive in the first T20I, picking up the wicket of Mohammad Nabi and helping India maintain control during Afghanistan’s middle overs.
However, Bishnoi is another specialist spinner in the squad and deserves an opportunity, particularly with India already holding a 1-0 lead.
The leg-spinner brings a different skill set from Varun. His quicker deliveries and ability to attack the stumps can be useful against Afghanistan’s middle-order batters, while his previous experience against the likes of Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi adds another layer to the contest.
Bishnoi has also demonstrated that he can handle pressure in T20 cricket. He famously delivered a match-winning Super Over spell against Afghanistan in Bengaluru in 2024, taking two wickets while conceding just one run.
Giving him a game now would allow India to assess their spin options ahead of the Asian Games.
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