"Time to conquer T20I cricket again" - Fans erupt as Virat Kohli returns to playing XI for IND vs AFG 2nd T20I

Team India's ace batter Virat Kohli has returned to the side's T20I team after a gap of 14 months. He makes his much-awaited comeback in the second T20I of the ongoing home series against Afghanistan in Indore on Sunday, January 14.

Kohli was added to India's squad for the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, indicating that he is very much in the scheme of things for the 2024 T20 World Cup. The former captain opted out of the opening encounter, citing personal reasons.

Several fans took to social media, expressing their excitement over Kohli's comeback to the T20I playing XI. Here are some of the top reactions:

It is worth mentioning that Virat Kohli is the most prolific batter in T20Is, having chalked up 4008 runs from 107 innings at an average of 52.73. His last appearance in the format for India came during the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, where he finished as the highest run-getter with 296 runs from six outings.

Meanwhile, India completed a six-wicket victory in the T20I series opener against Afghanistan to claim a 1-0 lead.

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Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal replaced Shubman Gill and Tilak Varma in India's playing XI for 2nd T20I

Team India made two changes to their playing XI for the second T20I. Young batters Shubman Gill and Tilak Varma made way for the returning Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to field first in the contest. Speaking at the toss, he said:

"We are gonna bowl first. No particular reason. Just nature of the ground especially the small boundaries. The things we were talking in our meeting, we were able to come out and execute that in the first game. We asked specific roles from the guys and they performed accordingly.

"Not much, they don't have any baggage and it is all about backing them, allow them to be free on the ground. We will do things keeping the WC in mind but we know results are also important."

Here are two playing XIs:

India: Rohit Sharma(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma(w), Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman