India, having clinched the ODI series against Afghanistan with victories in the first two outings in Dharamshala and Lucknow, is set to try out the bench strength in the third and final game here on Saturday (June 20, 2026) .

Speaking ahead of the match, assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate was full of praise for the young crop of Indian fast bowlers heading into next year’s ODI World Cup.

“When we got together in Chandigarh to see those young guys come in and bowl, it was literally like a wow moment. The way Gurnoor (Brar) has bowled in his first two games, and seeing a young Indian pacer hit 147-148 kph, is exciting,” said ten Doeschate.

“For the next 15 months, it’s purely around that (ODI World Cup). To amalgamate the talent with the guys coming through and get them up to speed, really, really quickly, is going to be the challenge for this group.”

On Kuldeep Yadav’s form, the former Dutch all-rounder backed the left-arm wrist-spinner to come good soon. “The way the game is evolving and the way guys go after the spin, the onus is back on the spinner to almost reinvent himself from time to time. Having Sairaj (Bahutule) in now, to work with the spinners on a lot of tactical things, game planning and trying to come up with new ideas, I think Kuldeep is travelling nicely, so no concerns about him,” he added.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan fielding coach John Mooney conceded that the current series has exposed the gulf between the two sides.

“The takeaway from the series is that skills-wise, they have a lot to do to catch up with this Indian team. I believe our players have fantastic skills as well. But the best players stick to the basics. They do the basics over and over and over and over, and I feel that that’s an area where our players could improve,” said Mooney.

India’s inexplicable meltdown against South Africa shifted attention to the team composition. During the post-match press conference at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Sunday, assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate conceded that World Cups never come easy.

Fine line

Reacting to vice-captain Axar Patel’s omission, ten Doeschate said: “We have the highest regard for Axar. It is just that in the case of match-ups against left-handed batters, we thought this was the best XI, especially our bowlers. It is a thin line, do we go with an extra batter or an extra bowler?”

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On Abhishek Sharma’s form, ten Doeschate explained: “The other day too I said how he is in good rhythm in the nets. Yes three zeroes can weigh you down, he is trying his best. Yes we have been losing wickets early. There is also some inexperience in the ranks, we are trying to address all that. We have to be careful while apportioning blame.”

Keeping it simple

Meanwhile, David Miller, who rescued South Africa with a superb knock, said: “In front of a large audience, you try to do the simple things. This game is a game of risks and as a cricketer you play to your terms. Today was an all-round great performance.”

He stressed that India is beatable. “We just got to stay in our lane and do our plans. Against Varun Chakaravarthy we did our best. He is a world-class bowler but we took our chances. Getting 187 on (the) board and getting those early wickets helped us,” Miller said.