India have announced their squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, with Sanju Samson and Varun Chakaravarthy among the players returning to the setup.
The series will be played entirely at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, with the three matches scheduled between September 13 and 17.
India’s selection contains few major surprises, although several players have been included subject to fitness clearance. Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy will need to prove their fitness before taking part in the series.
Samson returns to the squad after missing India’s recent tour of Zimbabwe, while Chakaravarthy is also back following a foot injury. Hardik Pandya, however, will not recover in time for the Afghanistan series.
The three matches arrive at an important stage for India as the reigning T20 world champions attempt to rebuild momentum following a difficult run in the shortest format.
India suffered a 2-0 T20I series defeat against Ireland in Belfast before enduring an even tougher assignment against England. England won that series 4-0, with the remaining match washed out. India’s struggles continued in the ODI leg of the England tour, which it lost 2-1.
The team found some relief during its subsequent trip to Zimbabwe, completing a 3-0 sweep in the T20I series. India will now look to carry that improved form into the home matches against Afghanistan.
Afghanistan will arrive in Delhi having not played a T20 international since the T20 World Cup in India earlier this year. The side won two of its four matches at the tournament but was unable to qualify for the Super Eight stage.
The upcoming series will mark Afghanistan’s return to T20I action and provide another opportunity to test itself against the reigning world champions.
The two countries met more recently in other formats in June. India dominated those contests, completing a 3-0 sweep of the ODI series before winning the one-off Test by an innings and 300 runs.
With India trying to build on its successful Zimbabwe tour and Afghanistan returning to T20I cricket after a lengthy gap, the three-match Delhi series will give both teams an opportunity to establish momentum in the format.
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, Harshit Rana*.
