India have picked a 15-member squad for the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, with Shreyas Iyer staying on as captain and Tilak Varma as his deputy. All three matches will be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, on September 13, 15 and 17. Jasprit Bumrah and Sanju Samson are back in the side, while 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi keeps his place after a heavy run of domestic scores.
Who’s in, who misses out
Full squad: Shreyas Iyer (c), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma (vc), Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana.
Bumrah, Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Varun Chakaravarthy have all been named subject to a fitness check. Samson returns after sitting out the Zimbabwe series, and Bumrah comes back into the shortest format after being rested. Hardik Pandya, still working back to full fitness, was not considered, and Rinku Singh also makes way.
Build-up to a busy season
The Afghanistan series is India’s first white-ball assignment of the home season and hands the new-look T20I group time together before a crowded calendar. The selectors have stuck with a settled core around Iyer, Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma, with Bishnoi and Chakaravarthy sharing spin duties and Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana the front-line pace options.
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