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No Sanju Samson in India squad for IND vs AFG ODI series 2026 as Ishan Kishan picked over CSK star originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Ishan Kishan was picked as backup India keeper ahead of in-form Sanju Samson for India's ODI squad vs Afghanistan.
- Kishan returns to ODI cricket after more than two years away from the format.
- Rishabh Pant loses vice-captaincy and ODI spot after a poor IPL campaign.
Sanju Samson misses India squad despite brilliant IPL form as Ishan Kishan gets the nod
Sanju Samson has been left out of the squad for India's upcoming series against Afghanistan despite being in the best of form with the bat in IPL 2026.
The selectors have instead recalled Ishan Kishan as the backup keeping option in the ODI setup. This ends a wait of over two years for the Jharkhand stumper. KL Rahul remains the first-choice keeper.
The Afghanistan assignment gets underway shortly after the IPL 2026 final, which is set for May 31 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
India will then host Afghanistan for a standalone Test in Mullanpur beginning June 6, before the two sides move across three ODI venues, Dharamsala, Lucknow and Chennai, for the white-ball leg of the tour.
MORE: India squad for Afghanistan Test and ODI series 2026: Full team lists
The numbers Samson has produced for Chennai Super Kings make his omission particularly hard to justify on cricketing merit alone.
He has accumulated 450 runs from 12 innings at a strike rate of 164.23, including two unbeaten centuries against Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians. Those knocks made him only the fourth player in CSK's entire franchise history to record multiple centuries in a single IPL season.
Meanwhile, Kishan's last ODI appearance coincidentally came against Afghanistan in October 2023. After leading Jharkhand to their first-ever Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title, he forced his way back into the T20I setup, carried that form into the T20 World Cup, and has continued to impress in IPL 2026.
MORE: Rishabh Pant loses India Test vice-captaincy to KL Rahul and dropped from ODIs for IND vs AFG series
India squad for Afghanistan Test and ODI series 2026 – Full list
India Test squad for Afghanistan series
- Shubman Gill (Captain)
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- KL Rahul (Vice-Captain)
- 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 for Afghanistan series
- Shubman Gill (Captain)
- Rohit Sharma
- Virat Kohli
- Shreyas Iyer (Vice-Captain)
- KL Rahul (Wicketkeeper)
- Ishan Kishan (Wicketkeeper)
- Hardik Pandya
- Nitish Kumar Reddy
- Washington Sundar
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Arshdeep Singh
- Prasidh Krishna
- Prince Yadav
- Gurnoor Brar
- Harsh Dubey
MORE: CSK's IPL 2026 playoff chances: Qualification scenarios, wins and points required
The Cricket News Opinion: Samson deserved better than this
There will be times when selectors make calls that prioritise long-term planning over short-term form. And perhaps that is what has happened here.
Kishan's left-handedness, his T20 World Cup contributions and his overall trajectory appear to have swayed the committee. But Samson's case deserved a more transparent explanation.
Two unbeaten hundreds, a strike rate north of 164 and a string of match-defining performances are not numbers that should be quietly passed over. If India's selection philosophy is moving toward rewarding consistency and peak IPL form, Samson should have been named in the ODI squad.
He will feel hard done by, and few who watched him bat in IPL 2026 would disagree.
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