India’s build‑up to the T20I series against Afghanistan is beginning to look a lot more muscular.
Hardik Pandya and Nitish Kumar Reddy have cleared the key hurdle: they’re fit, firing, and ready to be picked. Washington Sundar is not far behind, edging towards the final medical green light for the three-match series starting September 13 in Delhi.
All three have been put through demanding workloads at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, and those inside the setup say the intensity has gone up several notches in recent weeks. Hardik and Reddy, in particular, have treated the CoE like a second home. Reddy slips away only on weekends, while Hardik has shifted base to Bengaluru, allowing the medical and coaching staff to keep them under constant watch.
Washington’s path has been slightly different. He spent the weekend in Chennai and is due back at the CoE this week, where he will have to prove his readiness before the selectors put a tick next to his name. The plan is clear: reintroduce him through the shortest format, manage his overs, and rebuild his rhythm without overloading a body that has endured more than its share of setbacks.
The men’s senior selection committee, headed by Ajit Agarkar, is expected to meet this week to finalise the squad for the three T20Is. The Afghanistan series is the immediate target, but the decisions taken now will echo well beyond Delhi.
Because looming over everything is one name.
Jasprit Bumrah.
The fast bowler sat out the two Tests against Sri Lanka earlier this month, and every move around him is being made with an eye on the two home Tests against New Zealand later this year and, longer term, the 2027 ODI World Cup. At 32, with a surgically repaired knee and a history that demands caution, he is being managed like a rare asset rather than a workhorse.
Bumrah has been training at the CoE, slowly layering intensity onto his rehab. Those tracking his progress insist he is moving in the right direction, but no one around him is in a hurry. The original roadmap had him focusing on ODIs and Tests in the World Cup cycle, but that blueprint has been redrawn after his latest injury. The new idea is counterintuitive but pragmatic: let him feel his way back through T20Is, where the spells are shorter, the spikes in workload easier to control.
That’s why the Afghanistan series sits in an awkward place on the calendar. It might come a touch too soon. The Asian Games, though, look a far more realistic stage for his return, provided there are no late stumbles in his rehabilitation. Every session at the CoE is being monitored, every response from his knee logged. No one wants to gamble on overs in September if it risks overs in December and beyond.
While Bumrah’s timeline dominates the big-picture planning, the selectors have another puzzle to solve in the here and now: India’s left-arm spin option in T20Is.
Axar Patel has had an extended run in the format, playing all seven games on the recent tours of Ireland and England. The numbers, though, tell a flat story. Two wickets in four T20Is against England, two more in two outings in Ireland. Serviceable, but not the kind of cutting edge a side chasing global titles can rely on.
That has reopened the door for a familiar name.
Krunal Pandya is back in the conversation. His last appearance for India came in the 2021 T20I series against Sri Lanka, but his domestic and IPL form has kept him firmly on the radar. In the 2026 IPL season, he delivered 14 wickets for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, operating with the control and nous that selectors crave from a left-arm spinner in the middle overs.
Inside the selection room, the debate is straightforward: stick with Axar despite modest recent returns, or turn again to a proven performer who has rebuilt his case through consistency in the IPL. For a team searching for the right left-arm spin option in a format that can be unforgiving to any weakness, Krunal’s recall would be no shock.
As the selectors gather, India’s T20I plans are quietly shifting shape. Hardik Pandya and Nitish Kumar Reddy are ready to rejoin the fray, Washington Sundar is closing in, and Jasprit Bumrah’s comeback is being plotted with almost surgical precision. Somewhere in that mix, a left-arm spinner’s fate will be decided.
The Afghanistan series may only be three games in September, but the choices made now will say plenty about how India intend to travel through this World Cup cycle – and who they truly trust to carry them there.
