For the first time, Afghanistan will host India in an international series. Starting on September 13, the three-match Twenty20 International series will take place at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Afghanistan recently traveled to India for three ODI matches and one Test match, but they lost all of them against the Men in Blue. India may be improving at Twenty20 Internationals, but they still have some challenges. We examine three of those challenges.
Here are the 3 major concerns for Team India ahead of the Afghanistan T20I series:
3. Lack of firepower in death overs
India has had concerns that have gone under the radar despite winning the T20 World Cup 2026, and that is that their lower middle order doesn’t have firepower to score big and fast in death overs. The team lacks a specialized finisher in Hardik Pandya’s absence, a problem made worse by Rinku Singh’s removal from the squad during the Zimbabwe tour. Though Shivam Dube has shown flashes of brilliance, lack of lower-order power remains an issue.
2. Depleted bowling unit
Fast-bowling all-rounders Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana, who are now undergoing late fitness tests, will have to demonstrate their fitness in the coming days due to the prolonged absence of top all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Varun Chakaravarthy will also have to prove his fitness, while Ravi Bishnoi’s form is fickle, and Shreyas Iyer will have to manage with Arshdeep Singh, who remains the only premier bowler who is completely fit and in form for the Afghanistan T20I series.
1. Abhishek Sharma’s form
Abhishek Sharma has been in poor form since the T20 World Cup 2026, despite a fairly good outing in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2026). In his last 10 T20I innings, he has scored only 191 runs at an average of 19.10. To make matters worse, he scored only 11 runs in the T20I series against Zimbabwe. Abhishek Sharma is at a pivotal point in his career with Sanju Samson being summoned back and Vaibhav Suryavanshi gradually becoming a member of the team. After a strong run in the recent Sher-E-Punjab T20 Cup, the Afghanistan series seems like the perfect way for the opener to get back on track.
