India Aims for Series Sweep Against Afghanistan in Final ODI

Final ODI Match Preview

On Saturday, June 19, India will face Afghanistan in the concluding ODI of their series in Chennai, starting at 7:30 PM IST. The toss is set to occur 30 minutes prior to the match. With India already securing the series with a 2-0 lead, they are now looking to achieve a clean sweep against the visitors. Aakash Chopra, in his YouTube analysis, shared his thoughts on India's lineup, notably excluding Harshit Rana, who was not part of the initial squad. However, the bowling all-rounder joined the team just before the third ODI and may still feature in the final lineup.

Chopra suggested including Yashasvi Jaiswal in the playing XI, opting to rest Arshdeep Singh and reintroducing Nitish Kumar Reddy, who missed the second ODI due to a thigh injury. He stated, 'Yashasvi has only played one match. Let him play. We should go with Nitish Kumar Reddy if he is fit, and keep Arshdeep Singh out. We can't afford to bench Yashasvi, as we don't know when he will get another opportunity.'

Jaiswal had a brief outing in the series opener, scoring just 4 runs, but previously made a significant impact with a century against South Africa in December 2025. He was sidelined for the New Zealand series and subsequently dropped from the ODI squad for the Afghanistan matches.

Jaiswal stepped in for Virat Kohli, who is absent from the series due to a hamstring injury but is expected to return for the upcoming series against England. Currently, Kohli is only participating in ODIs.

Upcoming Tours for India

Following the Afghanistan series, the Indian team will head to Ireland and England. They are set to play two T20Is against Ireland, followed by five T20Is and three ODIs against England. Shreyas Iyer will take on the role of T20I captain for the first time during this series.