The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced a squad for the upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan on Sunday, January 7. Star cricketers Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are included in the T20I side after a gap of 14 months, hinting at their potential selection for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
Wicketkeeper batter Sanju Samson also makes his return to T20Is after missing the recent series. Pace all-rounder Shivam Dube gets another chance in the team as Hardik Pandya remains unavailable due to injury.
Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav led India in the last two T20I assignments against Australia and South Africa but misses out Afghanistan series due to an ankle injury he suffered in the third T20I game in Johannesburg. In-form opener Ruturaj Gaikwad is also missing the team after suffering a finger injury on the South Africa tour.
Senior figures Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer are notable players missing the squad ahead of the World Cup.
Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav are all included but only three pacers Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan and Mukesh Kumar are part of the 16-member squad.
Both Rohit and Virat last played a T20I during India's loss against England in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022. Kohli was the leading run-getter for India in the previous T20 World Cup and Asia Cup tournaments but was not involved in the shortest format last year.
India T20I squad vs Afghanistan:
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar
Mohali's PCA IS Bindra Stadium will host the opening game on January 11 while Indore and Bengaluru will conduct the second and third matches on January 14 and January 17 respectively.
