NEW DELHI: India have announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, with Jasprit Bumrah returning to the side while Hardik Pandya misses out after suffering a fresh setback in his comeback bid.Shreyas Iyer will continue to lead the side, with Tilak Varma as his deputy. Young batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who was part of the squad for the Zimbabwe series, has also retained his place.Bumrah returns to the T20I squad after missing the recent series against Ireland and England as well as the Zimbabwe tour. Sanju Samson, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana are the other players returning after missing the Zimbabwe series.As reported earlier by TimesofIndia.com, Pandya’s comeback plans had suffered a fresh roadblock after a late leg niggle forced him to pause bowling at the BCCI Centre of Excellence. He had been progressing well in his recovery but the setback put his availability for the Afghanistan series in doubt.Pandya has not played competitive cricket since turning out for Mumbai Indians in the IPL on May 24, while his last appearance for India came in the T20 World Cup final on March 8.Samson and Ishan Kishan are the two wicketkeeping options in the squad, while Abhishek Sharma, Sooryavanshi, Iyer, Tilak and Shivam Dube are among the batting options.The all-rounders’ group includes Dube, Nitish, Axar and Washington, while Varun Chakaravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi are the two specialist spinners.Bumrah, Arshdeep and Harshit form the pace-bowling group. Bumrah, Reddy, Sundar and Rana are, however, subject to fitness clearance.Eight players who were part of the Zimbabwe squad have missed out this time. They are Suryansh Shedge, Rinku Singh, Harsh Dubey, Prince Yadav, Yash Thakur, Ashok Sharma, Mayank Yadav and Prabhsimran Singh.The Afghanistan squad sees India return to a more experienced combination after the selectors used the Zimbabwe series to give opportunities to several players outside the regular T20I setup.
- India squad for Afghanistan T20Is: 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, Harshit Rana*
(NOTE: * Subject to fitness clearance)
