Washington Sundar has been declared fit and is available for India’s three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, providing a boost to the side ahead of the opening fixture on September 13, 2026. The all-rounder’s availability removes one fitness concern from the selection picture as India prepare for a series that carries added significance following a difficult run of results.
As per an India Today report, Jasprit Bumrah is scheduled to undergo a match simulation on September 9, after which the BCCI will decide whether he is fit to participate in the Afghanistan series. Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy have already completed their fitness tests and match simulations, but neither has yet received an official fitness clearance from the BCCI. The board is expected to release its final fitness report on the evening of September 9, covering all three players.
India’s squad for the series is led by Shreyas Iyer and includes Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi, alongside the players awaiting fitness clearance. Hardik Pandya is the only absentee from what is otherwise a full-strength group, ruled out due to a leg strain he sustained during the Indian Premier League earlier in 2026.
Why has India selected a full-strength squad for this series?
India lost six consecutive T20I matches across series against Ireland and England, a sequence that prompted selectors to name a full-strength squad for the Afghanistan assignment rather than use it as an opportunity to experiment. The decision reflects the seriousness with which the team management is approaching the series, with several senior players included to arrest the insipid form, despite the series win against Zimbabwe in July.
The three matches are scheduled for September 13, September 15, and September 17 at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. The venue is a familiar one for Indian cricket and is expected to provide a competitive surface for a T20I contest.
What does Bumrah’s simulation mean for his availability?
Bumrah’s participation in the Afghanistan series remains conditional on the outcome of his match simulation on September 9. A match simulation is a controlled fitness exercise designed to replicate the physical demands of competitive cricket, allowing medical staff to assess whether a player can perform at full intensity without risk of further injury or setback.
The BCCI has not yet confirmed Bumrah fit, and the board’s final call will come only after reviewing the results of the simulation. The same process applies to Rana and Reddy, whose fitness tests and simulations are complete but whose clearances are pending the September 9 report. All three players are marked with an asterisk in the announced squad, indicating their participation is subject to fitness confirmation.
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