India have included Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the 16-member squad for the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan in January.

Rohit Sharma will lead India in their three-match T20I series against Afghanistan. The squad also includes Virat Kohli. Neither man has played T20Is since India lost the semi-final of 2022 T20 World Cup.

These will be India’s last T20I matches before the 2024 T20 World Cup. Before the big tournament, the Indian cricketers will play five Test matches, the IPL, and the T20 World Cup warm-up matches.

The squad does not include Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, or Ruturaj Gaikwad, all of whom have captained India at T20Is in 2023, and are injured at this point.

🚨 NEWS 🚨#TeamIndia’s squad for @IDFCFIRSTBank T20I series against Afghanistan announced 🔽

Rohit Sharma (C), S Gill, Y Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, W Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav,…

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 7, 2024

Also rested are fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah, who also led India at T20Is in 2023, and Mohammed Siraj; spin-bowling all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja; and batter-wicketkeeper KL Rahul. All four played in the Test series against South Africa, and are certain to play the Tests against England at home.

The pace attack features Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, and Avesh Patel. Seam-bowling all-rounder Shivam Dube has also been picked.

Apart from Kuldeep Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi, the other spinners are Axar Patel and Washington Sundar, both of whom have reasonable batting credentials. Of the batters, Tilak Varma bowls off-breaks as well.

Batters Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Rinku Singh, and wicketkeepers Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma complete the squad. Samson last played T20Is against Ireland in August, and was not included for the Asian Games, the Australia series at home, or the series in South Africa.

India squad for T20Is against Afghanistan: Rohit Sharma (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar.