After the debatable dropping from the playing XI and the unexplained absence from the tour of Zimbabwe, Sanju Samson is back in the India squad that will take on Afghanistan later this month in a three-T20I series.
On Tuesday, the BCCI announced the 15-man squad that will face Afghanistan in Delhi, with Afghanistan being the designated hosts of this series. The IND vs AFG series will be hosted at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on September 13, 15, and 17.
The 15-man contingent saw the return of several India players who missed the tours to the UK and Zimbabwe, partially or wholly.
Of these, the biggest name, obviously, was that of fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah. But Bumrah’s name had an asterisk along with it, and so did those of Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Harshit Rana.
This is because the participation of Bumrah, Sundar, Reddy, and Harshit in the IND vs AFG T20I series is subject to them being fit and cleared by the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.
Bumrah suffered a recurrence of a left knee injury during the ODI series in England, while Harshit and Washington both sustained hamstring injuries in England. Reddy has been out of action since the ODI series against Afghanistan at home in June owing to a quadriceps injury.
Mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy is declared fit – hence no asterisk to his name – and is set for a comeback to international cricket. Chakaravarthy also injured his hamstring in the T20Is in England and missed the Zimbabwe tour. Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi has also been named in the squad for the Afghanistan T20Is.
When will Hardik Pandya return?
It was expected that Pandya would play against Afghanistan, but he was not named in the squad, and his comeback has been extended. Hardik has not played any professional cricket since the conclusion of the IPL 2026 due to a reported leg strain.
Pandya is not part of the India squad for the Asian Games in Japan. That could also be the reason that his return has been delayed, giving him more time to attain full fitness. Pandya might return to international cricket with the ODI series against West Indies at home, which begins on September 27.
India had sent a second-string squad to Zimbabwe, from which the dropped players include Prabhsimran Singh, Rinku Singh, Ashok Sharma, Harsh Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Mayank Yadav, Prince Yadav, and Yash Thakur.
Meanwhile, Samson will once again be competing with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for the opener’s spot. While Samson had a blockbuster hat-trick of matches towards the end of the T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, Sooryavanshi forced himself into the national side through a sensational IPL 2026 season and bagged the Man of the Series award in Zimbabwe.
IND vs AFG: India Squad For Afghanistan T20I Series
Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma (VC), Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Axar Patel, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ravi Bishnoi, Shivam Dube, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy*, Jasprit Bumrah*, Harshit Rana*, Washington Sundar*
* Subject to fitness clearance
Get the Latest Cricket Updates at IceCric.News. Also, Follow Our Social Media for live updates on Facebook and Instagram.
