India named a 16-member squad for the three-match series against Afghanistan, Here are five takeaways from India’s squad for the Afghanistan T20Is.

India’s squad for Afghanistan T20Is: 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, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan.

Who will be India’s top three?

Neither Rohit nor Kohli had played T20Is since India’s semi-final exit at the 2022 T20 World Cup. By recalling them for India’s last T20Is before the 2024 T20 World Cup, the selectors have as good as indicated that both will be picked for the big tournament.

Assuming Rohit opens and Kohli bats at No.3 – they have done that at the 2014, 2016, 2021, and 2022 T20 World Cups – the other batter in the top three will have to come from a reasonably deep pool.

Gill won the Orange Cap in the 2023 IPL. In the same edition, Ruturaj Gaikwad broke the shackles to emerge as a hitter in the format, while Jaiswal demonstrated his abilities from the word go.

Let us also not forget KL Rahul, who has batted down the order in Test cricket and ODIs, but not in T20Is since 2019. It is not clear whether he has been rested for the T20Is. He kept wicket in the South Africa Tests, and may repeat that role against England as well. However, he opens for the Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL. Also in the mix is Ishan Kishan, on whom there is no update.

Perhaps the Afghanistan series and the IPL will help the team management zero in on the candidates.

Samson is back, but no need to rejoice… yet

Samson was part of the second-string squad that toured Ireland, but since then he has missed the Asian Games – despite India sending a second-string squad – as well as the home T20Is against Australia at home and away T20Is against South Africa. However, he has got a chance here.

Despite striking at over 145 in four of the last five IPL seasons (and 137 in the other), Samson has played only 24 T20Is across eight and a half years. A recall to the squad just before the T20 World Cup may seem a good thing, but for two factors.

Jitesh was India’s keeper of choice for some of the period when India did not pick Samson, and there is no reason for the selectors to leave him out. Even if Samson pips Jitesh, Rahul may opt to drop down the order, as he has done with success in both Tests and ODIs. And then, there is Kishan too…

No Jadeja, no Shreyas

One can understand India resting Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. They played in the Test matches in South Africa, and are very likely to play in the five-match Test series against England. Fast bowlers need rest.

Ravindra Jadeja played in the second Test match in South Africa as well, but that game got over in two days, and Jadeja was not required to bowl a single ball. Of course, he will have to bowl hundreds of balls against England, but picking two spin-bowling all-rounders – Axar and Washington – might have closed the door on him.

An injury kept Shreyas Iyer out of T20I contention for most of 2023. When he returned, he made a 37-ball 53 against Australia at Bengaluru in his second T20I, was left out of the South Africa matches, and does not seem to be in contention in near future.

A focus on all-rounders

Axar and Washington were probably predictable picks, but India have also included Dube. If the rumours of Hardik Pandya not recovering in time for the IPL are anything to go by, India will want a seam-bowling all-rounder ready ahead of the T20 World Cup.

Dube is no Pandya, but he is perhaps the closest to a like-for-like replacement in India. Whether he gets the nod is to be seen, but clearly he is in contention even if it is a “what if” scenario.

Tilak Varma addresses another of India’s perennial woes, of their nbatters not bowling.

Who will sit out when the big guns return?

Let us, for now, assume that India have a settled top three. Once fit, Suryakumar Yadav – arguably the greatest T20I batter of all time – and Pandya will also return to the squad. That will leave India with one slot to fill in the top six.

If India pick Jaiswal or Gill along with Rohit and Kohli in the top three, they will have to slot in the wicketkeeper down the order. That will lead to Rinku being left out. On the other hand, if they are keen on Rinku, they need a keeper in the top three. That can be Rahul, but it can also be Kishan, though he is not part of India’s squad for the Afghanistan T20Is.

The next few months will be interesting.