WATCH: Return as captain in T20Is after 14 months, Rohit Sharma forgets Playing XI of IND vs AFG series opener during toss

Rohit Sharma is back in Team India's T20I setup after more than a year. There has been much speculation about Rohit and Virat Kohli's future in the shortest format, but both have been included in the three-match home series against Afghanistan. The opening match got underway in Mohali on Thursday (January 11) with the veteran opener leading the side, while Kohli missed out due to personal reasons.

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Meanwhile, the 'Hitman' did something he usually does during the toss. Returning as T20I captain after more than 14 months, Rohit forgot his teammate's name who had been rested for the first match. India won the toss and elected to field and commentator Murali Karthik asked the skipper to relay the team news.

"We will bowl first. No particular reason, the pitch is good and it doesn't change a lot here. A lot to gain from the 3 games, we haven't had too much T20 cricket leading to the World Cup, there's IPL, but this is an international game and we'll try to achieve a few things," Rohit said. 

"I had a chat with Rahul bhai regarding the combination going forward and what we need to do as a group. That's what we'll try to do, but winning is the most important thing. Sanju Samson, Avesh, Yashasvi (who didn't pull off well) and Kuldeep miss out," he added. 

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Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Avesh Khan and Kuldeep Yadav are the players who are not included in the XI. However, Rohit took a long pause while trying to remember the name of the fourth player, Kuldeep. In the video, which has gone viral on social media, the 36-year-old can be seen hilariously smiling.

Watch the video below: 

Typical Rohit Sharma moment during the toss😂#RohitSharma𓃵 #INDvsAFG pic.twitter.com/ntWUjdWF4t

— Quantum⁴⁵ Yadav (@45Quantum) January 11, 2024

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This is not the first time that Rohit has experienced memory loss during the toss. Last year, he forgot his decision after winning the toss in an ODI match against New Zealand held in Raipur. 

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma(w), Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar