Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar called up for Afghanistan ODIs

Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey have received their maiden ODI call-ups as the selection committee announced a 15-member squad for India's three-match series against Afghanistan. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli continue in the ODI mix, but the inclusions of Rohit and Hardik Pandya are subject to fitness clearance.

Pandya is sidelined due to a back issue and has missed three IPL 2026 matches since May 2. Rohit has featured in only seven of MI's 12 games, picking up a right hamstring injury early in the season.

ODI squad: Shubman Gill (c), 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, Harsh Dubey

Ayush Badoni, Dhruv Jurel and Harshit Rana (injured) are missing from the squad picked for the New Zealand series. Ishan Kishan returns to the ODI squad having played his last ODI against Afghanistan in the 2023 World Cup.

Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for workload management while Mohammed Siraj is only part of the Test squad. Both Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel are not in the ODI setup, with Dubey getting the nod as part of the selectors' plan to assess options for the 2027 ODI World Cup.

"With regard to one-day cricket, we have 15-16 months left to that World Cup. We want to try and assess our options, particularly keeping in mind the conditions in South Africa and give exposure to some of the newer guys. We know what Ravindra Jadeja or Axar Patel can do. This is the time we try and give opportunity to some of the other guys," explained Ajit Agarkar.

"You want guys who can contribute with the bat down the order but also have the necessary skill to be a front-line bowler. We think he certainly fits the bill. We have seen enough over the last couple of years. He seems to have the necessary skill to succeed at this level," Agarkar said about Dubey.

Prince bagged 18 wickets in eight matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, finishing as his team's highest wicket-taker. Punjab pacer Gurnoor picked up 11 wickets in eight matches in the same tournament.

"There were a couple of guys who were injured who were part of the one-day squad before. With Gurnoor, we have seen a lot of promise. He is a tall guy with a bit of pace. Keeping the South Africa World Cup in mind, we are obviously going to try a few guys. Prince Yadav has shown a lot of promise through the domestic season and bowled well in the IPL," Agarkar added.

The ODI series follows the one-off Test between India and Afghanistan. The first ODI will be played in Dharamsala on June 14, followed by matches in Lucknow and Chennai on June 17 and June 20 respectively. All ODIs are day-night games starting at 1:30 PM IST.