No Sanju Samson in India squad for IND vs AFG ODI series 2026 as Ishan Kishan picked over CSK star
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.