Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Ravi Bishnoi, both part of the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, have been named in the Indian cricket team’s 15-member squad for the three-match AFG vs IND T20 2026 series in New Delhi from September 13 to 17.

Shreyas Iyer will captain India, with Tilak Varma serving as his deputy.

Sooryavanshi heads into the India vs Afghanistan T20 series after an impressive run across formats.

The 15-year-old Indian batter was India’s leading run-scorer during their 3-0 T20I series victory in Zimbabwe in July, amassing 151 runs in three matches at an average of 50.33 and a strike rate of 196.10.

He struck 50 off 19 balls in the opening match before making a career-best 81 off 49 deliveries in the third T20I. Sooryavanshi finished the series with two half-centuries and was named Player of the Series.

The Rajasthan Royals opener has since carried that form into red-ball cricket with East Zone in the Duleep Trophy.

Sooryavanshi made 92 off 81 balls in the first innings of the semi-final against defending champions Central Zone, becoming the youngest half-centurion in Duleep Trophy history.

He followed it up with 40 in the second innings as East Zone successfully chased 159 to win by four wickets and advance to the Duleep Trophy final, finishing the match with 132 runs across his two innings.

Sooryavanshi has also begun adding another dimension to his game with his left-arm spin. In the previous round against North East Zone, he returned career-best first-class figures of 2/11 as East Zone won by an innings and 210 runs.

Bishnoi, meanwhile, also last represented India during the Zimbabwe series.

The Rajasthan Royals leg-spinner, a former world No. 1 T20I bowler, played all three matches and picked up a wicket in each, conceding 68 runs from his 12 overs across the series.

The 25-year-old Indian spinner also picked up 11 wickets in nine matches for Rajasthan Royals during IPL 2026. His campaign included figures of 4/41 against Gujarat Titans, when he became the youngest Indian to reach 200 wickets in T20 cricket.

India have named the same 15-member squad for the Afghanistan series that will travel to Japan for the Asian Games 2026 later this month.

Sooryavanshi and Bishnoi will therefore remain with the national setup for the continental Games, where India will defend the men’s cricket gold medal under Iyer.

Afghanistan will be the designated home side for the three-match T20I series despite all the matches being played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.

The first T20I will be played on September 13, followed by matches on September 15 and 17.

India squad for Afghanistan T20I 2026 series

Indian cricket team: Shreyas Iyer (c), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma (vc), Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy*, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar*, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah*, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana*

*Subject to fitness clearance.