IND vs AFG 2026: Is Harshit Rana playing 3rd ODI?

As the toss got underway at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, for the third and final ODI of the series between India (IND) and Afghanistan (AFG), fans wondered whether Harshit Rana, a late entrant into the squad, made it to the Men in Blue's playing XI for the series finale.

The toss went in favour of Afghanistan, as the visiting skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi iterated his decision of batting first at a batting-friendly deck at Chepauk. Moreover, he said that the conditions were quite hot in Lucknow for the second ODI, and with the temperature being even hotter in Chennai, he believes that batting first is the key to winning the match here.

While Indian captain Shubman Gill appeared at the toss, he also informed that they had made three changes to their playing XI from the preceding encounter. As a result, Prasidh Krishna, Harsh Dubey, and Nitish Kumar Reddy came back in for Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, and KL Rahul, indicating that Harshit Rana would only carry drinks in the match.

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The Afghans, on the other hand, made a whopping four changes, with Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Ziaur Rahman and Fareed Ahmed Malik making their way into the playing XI for the final encounter.

"We want to bat first today. It's always hot in India in this month. Wicket also looks good. It's dry and hard. Hopefully we have a good start in the batting. In the last two games we missed some areas and didn't play the way we have played in the past. Hopefully we recover today and have good partnerships and bowl in the right areas. Four changes. Nabi is back; Azmat is playing. (Reads from his palm) Zia ur Rahman and Fareed Malik are in."

"Looks like a very good wicket. Would've batted first as well. It was pretty hot in the last match, and it's going to be no different here. It's about being consistent in the areas we're looking at. We'll be chasing in this match, and chasing big scores consistently and comfortably is one area where we haven't quite ticked the box yet. That's what we'll be looking at today. Three changes. Prasidh, Harsh and Nitish Reddy are back."

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Darwish Rasooli, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, AM Ghazanfar, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi, Fareed Ahmad Malik

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (C), Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harsh Dubey, Gurnoor Brar, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav