Bumrah, Nitish Included in India’s Afghanistan T20I Squad Subject to Fitness

Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has been named in India’s squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, subject to fitness clearance, while Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana have also been included pending medical clearance.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) will host India for the three matches at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on September 13, 15 and 17. The Indian selectors have retained the same squad that is scheduled to travel to Aichi-Nagoya for the Asian Games later this month.

Bumrah returns to the squad after recovering from an impact injury to his knee sustained during India’s ODI series in England. The 32-year-old subsequently missed the two-Test series against Sri Lanka after the BCCI medical team advised him to rest.

Fast bowler Harshit Rana is also set to return after suffering a Grade 1 right hamstring injury during India’s T20I series in England. Washington Sundar, who later sustained a hamstring injury during the third ODI against England, has also been undergoing rehabilitation.

All-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy had been sidelined from India’s tours of Ireland and England after his injury worsened during an ODI against Afghanistan in Chennai. He had been sent to the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru for recovery but did not regain fitness in time for the Sri Lanka series.

All four players Bumrah, Reddy, Sundar and Rana are currently undergoing Return to Play protocols, with their participation dependent on receiving final fitness clearance.

India Squad:

Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana.