Sanju Samson and Jasprit Bumrah return, no Hardik Pandya as BCCI announces T20I squad for Afghanistan series

Sanju Samson and Jasprit Bumrah return, no Hardik Pandya as BCCI announces T20I squad for Afghanistan seriesHardik Pandya remains out of the side due to an injury (Courtesy: Reuters)Hardik Pandya's return to the Indian T20I team has been delayed yet again as the star all-rounder didn't make the cut for the upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan in Delhi. Sanju Samson and Jasprit Bumrah make a return to the side, with the latter's availability depending on fitness.Shreyas Iyer will continue to lead the team with Tilak Varma working as his deputy. Like Bumrah, the participation of Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana will also depend on their fitness and getting clearance to play. INDIA SQUAD FOR AFGHANISTAN SERIESShreyas 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**Subject to fitness HARDIK PANDYA SUFFERS FRESH SETBACKHardik last played for India during the T20 World Cup final this year and his last on-field appearance came for Mumbai Indians during IPL 2026 on May 24. He was initially selected for India’s three-match ODI series against Afghanistan at home, but a leg strain forced him to withdraw from the squad.The injury also kept him out of India’s subsequent white-ball assignments in Ireland and England, where the team played a total of eight T20Is and three ODIs. Since his initial injury setback, the all-rounder was seen working hard at the BCCI Centre Of Excellence to get back to full fitness. According to a report from Times Of India, Hardik suffered a leg niggle before the team was announced. The India all-rounder had returned to full fitness and was training intensely at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. However, the latest niggle forced him to put his bowling on hold.- EndsPublished On: Sep 1, 2026 17:33 IST