India's squad vs Afghanistan: Decoding big snubs, what it means for the future

Published on 5/20/2026, 3:28:24 AM

Key points

India’s squad announcement for the Afghanistan ODI and Test series was supposed to mark the beginning of two massive journeys.
In ODI cricket, it officially starts India’s final year of combinations, experiments and selection calls before the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, while in Tests, it opens what the Shubman Gill-led side will hope becomes a redemption season after a deeply disappointing 2025-26 red-ball cycle.
Read Full Story But once the squads dropped, the real conversation quickly shifted towards the names missing rather than the names included.
Rishabh Pant lost both his ODI spot and Test vice-captaincy.
Mohammed Shami was not even in the selectors’ longer-format thinking any more.

Quick context: India’s squad announcement for the Afghanistan ODI and Test series was supposed to mark the beginning of two massive journeys.

Published May 20, 2026.

📌 Source: India Today

The BriefWire

Loading…

Published on 5/20/2026, 3:28:24 AM

Key points

India’s squad announcement for the Afghanistan ODI and Test series was supposed to mark the beginning of two massive journeys.
In ODI cricket, it officially starts India’s final year of combinations, experiments and selection calls before the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, while in Tests, it opens what the Shubman Gill-led side will hope becomes a redemption season after a deeply disappointing 2025-26 red-ball cycle.
Read Full Story But once the squads dropped, the real conversation quickly shifted towards the names missing rather than the names included.
Rishabh Pant lost both his ODI spot and Test vice-captaincy.
Mohammed Shami was not even in the selectors’ longer-format thinking any more.

Quick context: India’s squad announcement for the Afghanistan ODI and Test series was supposed to mark the beginning of two massive journeys.

Published May 20, 2026.

📌 Source: India Today

The BriefWire