India vs Afghanistan ODI Series: Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya return in the ODI series against Afghanistan, but why is Virat Kohli out? New picture of Team India ready! Who came in, who went out?
New Delhi: A big news has come for Indian cricket fans. Team India’s star players Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya are all set to make a comeback in the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan. Both have passed their fitness assessment. It is expected that he will join the national squad soon before the series. But the bad news is that Virat Kohli is out.
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Rohit and Hardik were out of IPL
- Sources told ANI, “Hardik and Rohit are all set to play the ODI series against Afghanistan; both have passed their fitness test and will join the team soon.
- Let us tell you that both Rohit and Hardik were injured during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. Both the players were playing for five-time champion Mumbai Indians.
- Rohit Sharma was struggling with a hamstring problem, while star all-rounder Hardik Pandya was undergoing treatment for persistent back stiffness, due to which he was ruled out of the last few matches of IPL 2026.
Virat Kohli will not play against Afghanistan
- Team’s veteran batsman Virat Kohli is out of this series due to hamstring injury. He suffered this injury during the final of IPL 2026, where Royal Challengers Bangalore successfully defended their title. Giving an update on the former India captain’s injury, BCCI Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar said that the exact time of his recovery is not yet decided.
- Agarkar said, “Talking about Virat, it has been less than a week since he got injured in the final (IPL 2026), so he will probably assess the situation now. We don’t know the timeline yet, but it seems that he may be fit till the England ODI series. But still, this is not a sure answer, so don’t take my words as set in stone. We have not got any clear timeline from the physio yet.
- In place of Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal has been included in the ODI squad for the three-match series. The three-match ODI series between India and Afghanistan will start on June 13 in Dharamshala. The second ODI will be played on June 17 in Lucknow, while the last match will be played on June 20 in Chennai.
India’s ODI team
Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey.