Krunal Pandya Omitted Again but Sends Strong Message
The India squad for the T20I series against Afghanistan dropped on Tuesday. One name many expected to see was missing. Within minutes, Krunal Pandya made sure the silence around his omission didn’t last long.
“Hope is still alive,” he posted on social media. Five words, no frills, but loaded with context.
This is a 35-year-old all-rounder who hasn’t played for India since a T20I in Sri Lanka in 2021, yet forced his way back into serious conversation with a strong IPL 2026 season for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Fourteen wickets, control with the ball, utility with the bat, and that familiar left-arm spin–middle-order package that every T20 side craves. He had done enough to at least enter the selection debate again.
He did. He just didn’t make the cut.
Krunal’s case, and the door that isn’t shut
The selectors have been hunting for a reliable left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder in the T20I format. Axar Patel has had a long run in that role, playing all seven matches across the recent series in Ireland and England. The returns were modest: four wickets in total — two in two games in Ireland, two more in four outings against England.
That output, and India’s desire to refresh their options, briefly brought Krunal back into focus. His IPL form made him a live contender, as previously reported, and the Afghanistan series in New Delhi looked a realistic window for a recall.
Instead, his name stayed on the outside of the official list.
Yet the post — “Hope is still alive” — tells its own story. This isn’t a farewell note. It reads more like a marker laid down, a reminder to the selectors that he still sees a pathway back into blue. At 35, with a strong recent domestic and IPL body of work, Krunal is signalling he’s not ready to move into the “former India all-rounder” category just yet.
Afghanistan will host India for three T20Is at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on September 13, 15 and 17. All three games in the capital. All three without Krunal, who will be watching from the outside again, but clearly not in retreat.
Bumrah back in the frame, with asterisk attached
If Krunal’s omission raised eyebrows, one name in bold letters at the other end of the squad list offered India something they have badly missed: Jasprit Bumrah.
The pace spearhead has been named for the Afghanistan T20Is, but his return comes with a condition — fitness clearance. Bumrah suffered an impact injury to his knee during the ODI series in England and has been out since, missing the two-Test tour of Sri Lanka on medical advice. The BCCI medical team asked him to rest, and India felt his absence in every format he sat out.
Now, his selection signals intent. If he clears the final fitness hurdles, India suddenly regain their death-overs banker and new-ball threat ahead of a busy T20 calendar. If he doesn’t, the wait stretches again, and the management will have to keep juggling their fast-bowling resources.
He’s not the only one under the medical microscope.
Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana have also been picked subject to fitness. All three are navigating Return to Play protocols. Rana picked up a Grade 1 hamstring injury in the third T20I against England. Washington suffered his own hamstring issue in the third ODI of that tour. Reddy has been sidelined by an injury that kept him out of India’s recent assignments.
Their inclusion, even with asterisks, underlines how central they are to India’s short-term T20 planning. If they’re passed fit, the squad suddenly looks deeper and more flexible. If not, the selectors will be forced into late reshuffles.
Hardik’s latest setback
There was another Pandya missing from the sheet.
Hardik Pandya, pencilled in for a comeback, has been ruled out again after a late leg niggle at the BCCI Centre of Excellence stalled his return. For a player who once embodied India’s T20 template — power-hitting finisher, seam-bowling option, sharp fielder — this is another frustrating pause.
He hasn’t played competitive cricket since turning out for Mumbai Indians on May 24. His last India appearance came on the biggest stage of all, the T20 World Cup final on March 8. From that high to this limbo, the gap is widening, and every missed series makes his road back a little steeper.
With Hardik out and Krunal overlooked, India head into the Afghanistan series without either of the brothers who once symbolised a new-age, fearless T20 approach.
The squad that did make it
The responsibility now falls on a mix of familiar faces and emerging names. India’s squad for the three T20Is in New Delhi reads:
Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy*, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar*, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah*, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana*.
(*Subject to fitness clearance)
It’s a group that blends top-order power, middle-order versatility and a spin attack with variety. The fitness clouds hovering over Bumrah, Washington, Reddy and Rana will shape the final XI combinations, but the framework is clear: India want flexibility, multiple bowling options, and batters who can shift gears quickly.
Outside that circle, Krunal Pandya waits. He has made his statement in the only way available to him right now — performances in domestic cricket and the IPL, and a short, pointed message to the public.
Hope is still alive. The question now is whether the next set of selectors’ minutes will say the same.
