Gujarat titans
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1st ODI: India Will Play Around No.3 Slot In Virat Kohli’s Absence, Says Morkel
Indian Premier League: India’s fast bowling coach Morne Morkel has indicated that the team will experiment with the number three batting position in Virat Kohli’s absence during the three‑match ODI series against Afghanistan, starting at the HPCA Stadium on Saturday.
Kohli was ruled out of the three ODIs against Afghanistan due to a hamstring injury picked up while hitting a match-winning 75 not out in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 final against the Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad. In his absence, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, and Yashasvi Jaiswal are in contention to bat at number three.
“I think that’s something that in this series we’ll play around with, (whether) it’s Ishan (Kishan) or KL (Rahul) or Yashasvi (Jaiswal). We have got a couple of one‑day games coming up, and we’ll give guys an opportunity in different slots to give ourselves a better idea of how we can structure teams and have different options,” Morkel said in the pre-match press conference.
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