India announce 15-member squad for three T20Is vs Afghanistan- Jasprit Bumrah returns

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has revealed its 15-member squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, as Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar, and Nitish Reddy have been named in the side, subject to fitness clearance from BCCI’s Centre of Excellence.  

The wicket-keeper batter, Sanju Samson, their left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, and the left-arm spin all-rounder, Axar Patel, have also returned to the side after being rested for their recent T20I series against Zimbabwe in July as Hardik Pandya continues to recover from the injury.

Bumrah, Samson return; Hardik Pandya ruled out as Shreyas Iyer leads 15-man group

Hardik has been training hard and recovering from the injury that he picked up recently and has been out of the T20I squad. Their mystery spinner, Varun Chakravarthy, who injured his hamstring during the T20I series against England and was omitted from their Zimbabwe trip, has returned to the squad. 

Meanwhile, their lower-order batter Rinku Singh, opener Prabhsimran Singh, and others such as Harsh Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Ashok Sharma, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav and Yash Thakur have been left out of the squad that went to Zimbabwe and won the series.

See Also: Afghanistan name 15-member squad for T20I series vs India — Naveen-ul-Haq returns

Bumrah missed the third ODI in July against England and was out of India’s two-match Test series against Sri Lanka after suffering an injury in the left knee. That has been a problem he has had since the T20 World Cup 2026 earlier. Rana and Sundar picked up hamstring injuries on the trip to England.

India’s squad for the T20I series against Afghanistan-

Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy*, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar*, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah*, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana* (*Subject to fitness clearance).

All three T20Is vs Afghanistan set for Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, September 13–17

India will play Afghanistan in three T20Is on September 13 to 17, 2026 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. It will be a vital series for the side, which would love to show their skill in the format, having lost both the T20I series against England and Ireland, before earning a win over Zimbabwe.

See Also: BCCI considering Krunal Pandya's India comeback in upcoming Afghanistan T20Is: Reports

Afghanistan have become a strong side in the shortest format in the last few years, having done really well in the T20 WCs. The two teams recently won the three-match ODI series, the first bilateral 50-over series that India won by a 3-0 margin.

The blue brigade will need to be clinical with the bat and ball in hand during the T20I series against Afghanistan and secure the series victory.