India vs Afghanistan T20I Series 2026 — Delhi Schedule, Squads & Fantasy Guide

India and Afghanistan meet for a three-match T20I series in Delhi, all three games played at Arun Jaitley Stadium on 13, 15 and 17 September 2026, each starting 7:30 PM IST. It is a rare bilateral fixture between the two sides on Indian soil, and comes with a full-strength India squad — Shreyas Iyer leads, with Jasprit Bumrah named subject to fitness clearance. Below: verified 15-player squads for both teams, a pitch and dew report for Kotla, recent player form, and free fantasy XI, captain and vice-captain picks for all three matches.

Series Schedule — All 3 T20Is in Delhi

India lead the two sides' recent head-to-head record 4–0 across their last four completed meetings. Afghanistan have played little T20I cricket in India itself and arrive with plenty to prove against a full-strength home attack.

India Squad (15) — Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma (vc)

Batters: Shreyas Iyer (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Allrounders: Tilak Varma (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy*, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar*. Bowlers: Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah*, Harshit Rana*, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakravarthy. (*Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah and Harshit Rana are named subject to fitness clearance — confirm their status in the toss report before locking a fantasy team.)

Afghanistan Squad (15) — Ibrahim Zadran (c)

Batters: Ibrahim Zadran (c), Darwish Rasooli, Noor ul Rahman (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sediqullah Atal. Allrounders: Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Nangeyalia Kharote, Rashid Khan. Bowlers: Abdollah Ahmadzai, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Noor Ahmad. Rashid Khan hands over the T20I captaincy this series, with Ibrahim Zadran officially taking over — and Naveen-ul-Haq returns to the Afghanistan side for the first time since December 2024.

Pitch Report: Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi

Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium (the old Feroz Shah Kotla) has long played slow and low for a T20 surface — the ball doesn't come onto the bat as fast as at India's pacier venues, and spinners grip it through the middle overs. Lower-order batters who rely on timing rather than power often struggle here, which makes picking your spin-bowling allrounders and top-order stroke-makers carefully more important than usual. Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar (fitness permitting) are all a tier above a generic bowling pick on this ground.

All three matches are night games (7:30 PM IST start), and mid-September in Delhi sits at the tail end of the monsoon — expect high humidity and a real chance of evening dew, which historically has made the side chasing under lights the side to back at Kotla. That is a seasonal pattern, not a locked forecast for any single evening: check the live toss report on CricketDream's match centre closer to each game for the actual conditions and the toss-winner's call before finalising your XI.

Players to Watch — Verified Recent T20I Form

Recent-form numbers below are pulled from each player's last several T20I appearances, not career totals — useful for gauging who is in form heading into this series rather than who has the biggest reputation.

Head-to-Head: Key Player Matchups

Click any comparison below to explore full T20I career stats, recent form and venue-specific numbers on CricketDream's Player Comparison tool.

Shreyas Iyer vs Ibrahim Zadran — the two form batters (tap to compare)

Zadran has the bigger recent average and carries Afghanistan's top order almost single-handedly, but Iyer's higher strike rate and captaincy responsibility for a deeper India batting line-up makes him the safer volume pick across all three games.

Ishan Kishan vs Rahmanullah Gurbaz — keeper-batters, opposite ends of the order (tap to compare)

Gurbaz has been the more prolific keeper-batter in recent T20Is, but India also carry Sanju Samson as a second keeper option — check the toss to see which gloveman actually plays before picking either into a fantasy XI.

Arshdeep Singh vs Rashid Khan — new-ball swing vs match-winning leg-spin (tap to compare)

Rashid Khan's recent numbers are simply better across the board, and a slow, spin-friendly Kotla surface plays further to his strengths — he is close to an auto-include for AFG in all three games unless the team is chasing a huge score.

Captain & Vice-Captain Picks — All 3 Matches

With squads confirmed but no toss data yet for any of the three matches, CricketDream's data-driven picks currently lean the same way for all three games: Sanju Samson as captain (2× points) and Noor Ahmad as vice-captain (1.5×), reflecting India's batting depth and Afghanistan's spin threat on a pitch that suits it. This is a starting point, not a locked recommendation — re-check the picks on each match's preview page after the toss, when confirmed XIs and conditions are known.

Play Every Format, Free — No Entry Fee

All three India vs Afghanistan T20Is are live on CricketDream with the verified series squad above — only players actually named for this series are selectable, so there's no risk of picking someone who isn't in the touring party. Build a Fantasy XI, join a Draft against friends, or create a Predictor contest for each match. There is no entry fee and no cash prize pool on CricketDream — it's free, skill-based competition with automatic scoring from live data.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where are all three India vs Afghanistan T20Is being played?

All three matches are at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi — 13, 15 and 17 September 2026, each starting 7:30 PM IST.

Is Jasprit Bumrah playing for India in this series?

Bumrah is named in India's squad but subject to fitness clearance, along with Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy. Confirm each player's status in the toss report before finalising a fantasy team.

Who captains each side?

Shreyas Iyer captains India, with Tilak Varma as vice-captain. Ibrahim Zadran captains Afghanistan, having officially taken over the T20I captaincy from Rashid Khan ahead of this series.

What is the pitch like at Arun Jaitley Stadium?

Historically slow and low for a T20 surface, with spinners gripping through the middle overs. Evening dew is common in mid-September night matches, which tends to favour the side bowling first.

Is fantasy cricket free on CricketDream for this series?

Yes. Fantasy XI, Draft, Multi-Draft and Predictor are all free for every India vs Afghanistan T20I, with automatic scoring from live data and no entry fee or cash prize pool.

Has India played Afghanistan in a bilateral T20I series on Indian soil before?

The two sides have played little bilateral T20I cricket inside India — most previous meetings have been at neutral or ICC-event venues. This three-match series is a rare set of fixtures played fully on Indian soil.