Gautam Gambhir, Krunal Pandya not included in India's T20I squad vs AFG (Source: AFP)
On Tuesday evening, India announced their squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan.
The Shreyas Iyer-led team will be back in action after a long gap of over 45 days, and it was expected that they could provide opportunities to some players on the periphery of the T20I squad.
Apart from the obvious first-choice candidates, there were reports of an experienced name returning to the squad as well. Here’s a brief look at the names who could have been a part of the team but failed to make the cut.
India's Squad For Afghanistan T20I series - Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Tilak Varma (Vice Captain), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson (Wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (Wicketkeeper), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh.
Deserving India players snubbed from Afghanistan T20Is
1. Krunal Pandya
One of the most important names in the Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s back-to-back IPL titles in the last two seasons was that of Krunal Pandya.
During this time, he has contributed with both bat and ball for them, while also winning the Player of the Match in the IPL 2025 final with 2/17 to his name.
In these two seasons, Krunal Pandya has picked 31 wickets at a healthy economy rate of 8.33 runs per over. The left-arm orthodox has also worked on different variations, including an unpredictable bouncer and reaped rewards for it.
On the batting front, he has scored a couple of important fifties, while chipping in with cameos whenever required. With Afghanistan being the opponent, Krunal could have been a valuable addition to Shreyas Iyer’s roster.
Notably, in the lead up to the squad announcement, there were serious reports, linking the 35-year-old to a sensational India return, having last represented the Men in Blue back in July 2021.
| Criterion | Data |
| Innings | 30 |
| Wickets | 31 |
| Economy Rate | 8.33 |
| Avg/SR | 25.93/18.6 |
| Best Figures | 4/45 |
(Krunal Pandya's bowling stats since IPL 2025)
| Criterion | Details |
| Innings | 16 |
| Runs | 335 |
| Strike Rate | 139.00 |
| Highest | 73* |
| 50/100 | 2/0 |
(Krunal Pandya's batting stats since IPL 2025)
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2. Prince Yadav
Prince Yadav was a breakout bowling star of IPL 2026, with his smart bowling across the span of 20 overs. The 24-year-old also made it to the Indian team with a 16-wicket season for Lucknow Super Giants.
Prince Yadav excels with his hit-the-deck bowling, while mixing up the pace from time to time to make it difficult for the batters to attack him at will. He also dismissed Virat Kohli during the season, which was a hot topic in the summer, especially after he revealed that Kohli was the one who advised him to bowl such lengths.
He was fast-tracked into the Indian team after the IPL and played 3 ODIs and 6 T20Is, picking 4 and 9 wickets, respectively. He got injured after an impressive 2/10 against Zimbabwe, but was reportedly available for selection for the Afghanistan series (as reported by Sports Tak).
| Criterion | Data |
| Innings | 14 |
| Wickets | 16 |
| Economy Rate | 8.82 |
| Avg/SR | 28.68/19.50 |
| Best Figures | 3/32 |
(Prince Yadav's IPL 2026 stats)
3. Gurnoor Brar
At the end of IPL 2026, Gurnoor Brar became a rare player to play for India, having not featured in the IPL for over three seasons.
He has been a part of the Gujarat Titans set-up for a considerable time and has all the minerals to excel at the international level.
During his debut ODI series against Afghanistan, his pace caught attention, as he constantly clocked 145 kmph across phases of the innings.
He has only played one IPL match yet, and is not a regular fixture in Punjab’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy setup. However, as someone who has been around the Indian team for the last few months, he could have been given a nod for IND vs AFG T20I series.
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4. Rinku Singh
Rinku Singh was named as Kolkata Knight Riders’ vice-captain ahead of the season and was one of the names under the pump after India’s T20 World Cup 2026 triumph.
The left-handed batter started the season slowly but got back to his best in the second half, with scores of 53*(34), 83*(51), 22*(11) and 49*(29) to end the season. While he was left out of the team for the Ireland and England tour, he returned for the Zimbabwe tour and scored 25(14) in one of the two innings.
The current Indian team heavily relies on Shivam Dube’s finishing, as Tilak Varma is getting used to the new role. The other options include Axar Patel and Washington Sundar. Hence, Rinku Singh could have been a valuable addition to the team for the IND vs AFG T20I series.
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