
India and Afghanistan will begin a three-match T20I series at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday, 13 September.
The remaining two matches are scheduled for 15 and 17 September, with all three games being played at the same venue. The series is part of Afghanistan’s Future Tours Programme and is being hosted by Afghanistan in India.
India enter the series as the reigning ICC Men’s T20 World Cup champions. They defeated New Zealand by 96 runs in the 2026 final in Ahmedabad to become the first team to retain the T20 World Cup.
Shreyas Iyer will captain India, with Tilak Varma named vice-captain. The squad also includes Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Yash Thakur.
Yash was added to the squad after Harshit Rana was ruled out with a rectus femoris strain sustained during a match simulation on 7 September.
Bumrah has been included subject to fitness and took part in India’s full-squad training session on Friday. Nitish Kumar Reddy has also cleared his fitness test and joined the squad.
Afghanistan will be led by Ibrahim Zadran, who is taking charge as the team’s full-time T20I captain for the first time. Their squad includes Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi and the returning Naveen-ul-Haq.
The teams last met in a T20I bilateral series in January 2024. India won that three-match series 3-0, including a tied third T20I in Bengaluru that India won after two Super Overs.
Ahead of the much-awaited T20I series, here’s all you need to know.
| Date | Match | Venue | Time (IST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 September, 2026 | Afghanistan vs India 1st T20I | Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi | 7.30 PM |
| 15 September, 2026 | Afghanistan vs India 2nd T20I | Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi | 7.30 PM |
| 17 September, 2026 | Afghanistan vs India 3rd T20I | Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi | 7.30 PM |
India and Afghanistan have played nine T20Is against each other ever since their first meeting during the 2010 T20 World Cup in West Indies. India have won eight matches, that includes a Super Over win, whereas one game was washed out due to rain.
The latest T20I meeting between India and Afghanistan was during the Super Eight stage of the 2024 T20 World Cup. The Men in Blue clinched a 47-run win in that match ass Afghanistan failed to chase down a target of 181. The Afghans were dismissed for 134 in 20 overs.
India: Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Thakur.
Afghanistan: Ibrahim Zadran (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Noor Rahman (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdullah Ahmadzai and Naveen-ul-Haq.
Fans in India can watch the India vs Afghanistan T20I series on the Sony Sports Network as far as TV is concerned. Live streaming will be available on FanCode app and website on a subscription basis.
PN Vishnu is a contributor with the LiveMint Sports team, where he primarily covers cricket, football and other major sporting events. A passionate sports journalist with nearly a decade of experience in digital media, Vishnu has been an ardent follower of sports for more than 10 years. While he enjoys covering a wide range of disciplines, his biggest sporting passions remain cricket and football. He is also a devoted supporter of Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League and Manchester United in English football. <br><br> Vishnu pursued a Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai, in 2016 and graduated in 2017. Since then, he has built an extensive career in sports journalism, working with leading media organisations including Deccan Chronicle and Firstpost. In 2025, he worked for CricXtasy for six months before joining LiveMint in February 2026. <br><br> Over the years, he has reported extensively on marquee sporting events such as the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Indian Super League (ISL). His reporting has also provided opportunities to interact with some of the game's leading personalities, including India cricketers Yuzvendra Chahal and Dhruv Jurel. <br><br> Away from the newsroom, Vishnu enjoys unwinding with books, discovering new music and binge-watching television series.
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