The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the Indian team for the T20 International series against Afghanistan. Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya's return to the team has once again been postponed. At the same time, wicketkeeper batsman Sanju Samson and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah have returned to the team. However, the availability of some players including Bumrah will depend on their fitness.
Let us tell you that Shreyas Iyer will captain the team, while Tilak Verma has been made the vice-captain. Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana have also been included in the team with the condition of passing the fitness test. This series will run from 13 to 17 September and all three matches will be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
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Pandya is struggling with injury
Hardik Pandya played his last match for India in the T20 World Cup final this year. After this, he took the field for the last time on 24 May for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2026. He was selected for the ODI series against Afghanistan but had to withdraw due to a leg strain.
After this, due to injury he could not even play the white ball series against Ireland and England. Hardik was working hard to get fit at the BCCI Center of Excellence in Bengaluru. According to the report, before the announcement of the team, he again had a slight problem in his leg, after which he has stopped bowling for the time being.
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Team India for Afghanistan series
Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Tilak Verma (vice-captain), Shivam Dubey, Nitish Kumar Reddy*, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar*, Varun Chakraborty, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah*, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana*.