Afghanistan opt to bat as MS Dhoni loses the toss on his captaincy comeback
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MS Dhoni will lead the Indian cricket team today in the last Super Four game against Afghanistan as India rested Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan to keep them fresh for the final. On the other hand, Deepak Chahar will make his ODI debut for India after making T20I debut against England in July.
After stepping down as the captain of the limited-overs team in January 2017, MS Dhoni has been a mentor to the captain and vice-captain duo of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, but it was unlikely that he would lead the team again. However, as India rested both Rohit and Dhawan for the last Super Four game, MS Dhoni got a chance to lead India for the 200th time in his international career.
While that has been another milestone to reach for Dhoni, Deepak Chahar, a player who was nurtured by MSD in the Chennai Super Kings set-up, couldn’t have asked for a better match to make his ODI debut. Chahar had a wonderful IPL and his subsequent performances for the India A team made him a strong contender for the spot. He has replaced Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the team and will be a part of the pace-attack that has the likes of Siddarth Kaul and Khaleel Ahmed.
After being asked to field first, Dhoni said, “We were looking to bowl first. Quite a few changes. Everybody who hasn't played in this tournament gets a chance. They are part of the 15 and they are representing India."
"Both our openers are missing. Bhuvi, Bumrah, and Chahal are missing too. The bench strength is important and when it comes to their talent, they're up there. Captaining my 200th game is just destiny.”
India (Playing XI): Lokesh Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni(w/c), Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Siddarth Kaul, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed
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