Axed! Rishabh Pant loses ODI spot, Test vice-captaincy as BCCI picks India squad for Afghanistan series

IPL’s most expensive player and former Test vice-captain, Rishabh Pant, suffered the heaviest blow in the latest India squad announcement for the forthcoming Afghanistan series. Not only did he lose his One-Day spot to in-form Ishan Kishan, but he also lost his Test vice-captaincy to KL Rahul, with the BCCI announcing two squads on Tuesday (May 19) evening.

India Test squad vs Afghanistan

Shubman Gill (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (vc), Sai Sudharsan, Rishabh Pant, Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey, Dhruv Jurel

India ODI squad vs Afghanistan

Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vc), KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey

While batting stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are back donning the One-Day colours, seamers Prince Yadav and Gurnoor Brar, alongside spinner Harsh Dubey, have earned their maiden ODI call-ups. Gurnoor and Dubey have also been included in the 15-man Test squad, with fellow slow left-arm orthodox Manav Suthar also earning his debut India Test call-up.

Ace quick Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for India’s first international series since losing to South Africa (0-2) at home in November last year.

Barring Bumrah, the other notable omissions include the left-arm all-rounder pair of Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel and pacer Akash Deep, who continues to recover from an injury. Of those who featured when India last played an ODI series (against NZ in Jan 2026), seamers Mohammed Siraj and Harshit Rana, all-rounder Ayush Badoni and keeper Dhruv Jurel have all missed the cut for the three One-Dayers against Afghanistan. Jadeja and Rana are also recovering from respective injuries.

On the other hand, Kishan and Hardik Pandya have returned to the ODI setup, with Shreyas Iyer continuing in his role as Gill’s deputy in the 50-over format.

Among the batters, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal is dropped from the ODI squad, with domestic giant Devdutt Padikkal returning to the Test side.

India will host Afghanistan for a one-off Test in New Chandigarh on June 6, with the three ODIs to follow on 14, 17 and 20.