Deepanjan Mitra

Thu, September 10, 2026

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Sanju Samson returns to India's T20I squad for a home series against Afghanistan.

Shreyas Iyer continues as T20I captain, with Tilak Varma retained as vice-captain.

Multiple players, including Jasprit Bumrah, are subject to medical clearance.

India squad for Afghanistan T20I series 2026

Sanju Samson finally makes his much-awaited return to the Indian T20 side after getting dropped earlier in the year. The CSK opener will feature across all three games against Afghanistan, providing a strong balance to the batting lineup.

On the other hand, Shreyas Iyer continues as captain following his appointment earlier this summer, with Tilak Varma serving as his vice-captain.

Teenage batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also makes the squad after being impressive across the last T20 series against Zimbabwe back in July.

Varma and Sooryavanshi have both been impressive in the Duleep Trophy and would hope to carry on that form into the international stage.

The two are joined in the batting cohort by opening batter Abhishek Sharma and Shivam Dube, both lethal when it's their day. But the squad announcement also carries some serious complications.

Their entire star bowling lineup, including Jasprit Bumrah, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Washington Sundar, have all been given the green light ahead of the first match. Harshit Rana, however, hasn't been that lucky with the fast bowler being replaced by Yash Thakur for the upcoming three-match series.

MORE: MI squad updates ahead of IPL 2027: Hardik Pandya's future remains uncertain as Mumbai Indians shortlist two candidates for captaincy role

Confirmed India T20I squad for Afghanistan series 2026

Here is the complete squad of players for India's T20I series against Afghanistan:

Shreyas Iyer (c)

Tilak Varma (VC)

Sanju Samson (wk)

Ishan Kishan (wk)

Abhishek Sharma

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

Shivam Dube

Nitish Kumar Reddy

Axar Patel

Washington Sundar

Varun Chakaravarthy

Ravi Bishnoi

Jasprit Bumrah

Arshdeep Singh

Yash Thakur

MORE: Pujara picks his all-time teammates XI: Sharma, Rahane ignored

Afghanistan vs India 2026 schedule

Afghanistan's white-ball tour of India will begin on September 13, with the subsequent games scheduled for 15th and 17th September. Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium is set to host all three matches.