The hopes of India's qualification to the semi-finals were shattered when Afghanistan lost to New Zealand. Their match against Namibia at the Dubai International Stadium on Monday evening is thus little but a formality. It will also be the final time Kohli will lead India in T20Is, and the last assignment for head coach Ravi Shastri, bowling coach Bharat Arun and several other members of the Indian support staff.
India are likely to include Ishan Kishan and Rahul Chahar in this match. After several ordinary performances, Varun Chakravarthy in is unlikely to the retained in the XI. They might also give one of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami a break in favour of Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Namibia, on the other hand, will like to use this opportunity to play against a well-followed team like India. Most players know that any significant performance against the Indians will be noticed by the scouts around the world.
This will be India's first T20I encounter against Namibia. The only other time they faced each other in Senior Men's cricket was in the 50-over World Cup of 2003.
Likely XIs
India: Rohit Sharma, K.L. Rahul, Virat Kohli (c), Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Rahul Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami
Namibia: Stephen Baard, Michael van Lingen, Craig Williams, Gerhard Erasmus (c), David Wiese, J.J. Smit, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Ruben Trumpelmann, Zane Green (wk), Jan Frylinck, Bernard Scholtz
Fantasy tips
- Pick more Indian top-order batters. Some of their middle-order batters may not get enough time in the middle.
- Go for for more Indian bowlers in your line-up.
- Frylinck missed Namibia's noon game against New Zealand on Friday due to dehydration. He should be fit to play this game and you may think about having him in your XI.
Fantasy XI
Rishabh Pant (wk), Rohit Sharma, K.L. Rahul (vc), Virat Kohli, Gerhard Erasmus, David Wiese, Ravindra Jadeja (c), Ruben Trumpelmann, Jan Frylinck, Rahul Chahar, Mohammed Shami