Shreyas Iyer Led India Faces New Look Afghanistan in Asian Games Quarterfinal

Shreyas Iyer and his team face a new-look Afghanistan in the Asian Games quarterfinal in Nagoya on Monday. This Afghan squad is missing familiar names like Rashid Khan, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Mohammad Nabi. Instead, they feature newer players such as Arab Gul Momand, Nangeyalia Kharoti, Mohammad Akram and Ismat Alam. India recently swept Afghanistan in Delhi, but this revised opponent has already spent time adapting to conditions in Japan. The match also brings weather worries as Nagoya has seen continuous rain since Saturday with more forecast until Thursday. Korogi Sports Park lacks floodlights and visibility remains poor. Iyer described the weather as a torrential downpour after a practice session on Sunday. India learned from a narrow escape against Japan in Sano on Tuesday where a short five-over game became a tight contest on a turning pitch. Afghanistan have shown mixed form in these conditions. They defended 129 against Japan after debutant Akram scored 34 and captain Darwish Rasooli along with Mohammad Ishaq pushed the total up. Their spinners Gul and Kharoti then bowled Japan out for 81. However, Afghanistan struggled against Nepal's spin when left-arm arm spinner Lalit Rajbanshi and Kushal Bhurtel restricted them to 102/7 before Nepal won by five wickets. India possess spin options like Axar Patel, Washington Sundar and Ravi Bishnoi, though their own batting order fell early against Japan with Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan departing quickly. Afghanistan retain some senior experience in Najibullah Zadran and Karim Janat alongside captain Rasooli. India bring a near full-strength squad, and a gold medal would further boost Iyer's captaincy record following recent series wins against Zimbabwe and Afghanistan.