Shreyas Iyer gifted Ibrahim Zadran a signed jersey before the first T20I in New Delhi
India and Afghanistan unveiled the ‘Friendship Cup’ ahead of the series opener
India return to full strength with Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakaravarthy back in the squad
India captain Shreyas Iyer presented Afghanistan skipper Ibrahim Zadran with a signed Indian jersey ahead of the first T20I in New Delhi on Sunday, setting a cordial tone before the start of the three-match series.
The gesture came shortly before the toss at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, where the two captains also unveiled a special memento to mark the launch of the ‘Friendship Cup’ between India and Afghanistan.
The series marks another important phase for India as they look to find consistency following a period of transition. The reigning T20 World Cup champions have endured series defeats in Ireland and England since their historic title defence, although a series victory in Zimbabwe helped them regain some momentum.
India have strengthened their squad for the Afghanistan series with the return of pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and spinner Varun Chakaravarthy. Hardik Pandya and Harshit Rana remain unavailable due to injuries, with Yash Thakur replacing Rana in the squad.
While all three matches of the series are being played in New Delhi, Afghanistan are officially the hosts.
Afghanistan have been unable to stage international matches at home because of security concerns and have traditionally used the United Arab Emirates as their home venue. They also briefly played their home fixtures at the Greater Noida Stadium in Uttar Pradesh before shifting their base to the UAE.
The introduction of the Friendship Cup adds another dimension to the bilateral series, with the pre-match exchange between Iyer and Zadran highlighting the growing cricketing ties between the two nations.
