Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar earn maiden called up for Afghanistan ODIs

As the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee announced a 15-member squad for India's three-match series against Afghanistan, Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, and Harsh Dubey received their first ODI calls. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli continue in the ODI mix but the inclusions of Rohit and Hardik Pandya are subject to fitness clearance. Pandya is currently sidelined due to a back issue, and has missed three IPL 2026 matches since last taking the field on May 2 for Mumbai Indians, who are eliminated from the playoffs race. Rohit, on the other hand, has featured in only seven of MI's 12 games so far, picking up a right hamstring injury early in the season against RCB. Dhruv Jurel, Ayush Badoni, and Harshit Rana (injured) are among the players who did not make the team that was selected earlier this year to play in the New Zealand series. In the meantime, Ishan Kishan, who performed admirably in the T20 match against New Zealand and the T20 World Cup that followed, has been recalled to the ODI team after playing his final ODI against Afghanistan in the 2023 World Cup. Kishan played only three games in the last edition of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, with the left-hander getting a hundred in one of the matches. Mohammed Siraj is not included in the Test squad, and Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for the series to manage workload. Both Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel are also not part of the ODI setup, with Dubey getting the nod over them as part of the selectors' plan to give exposure to different players and assess them keeping the 2027 ODI World Cup in mind. "In terms of one-day cricket, we still have 15 to 16 months until the World Cup. Somewhere around there, we want to obviously try and assess what our options are, particularly keeping in mind the conditions in South Africa and give a little bit of exposure to some of the newer guys. We know what Ravindra Jadeja or Axar Patel can do. This is the time we try and give some opportunity to some of the other guys," explained Ajit Agarkar, chairman of selectors. "You want guys who can contribute with the bat down the order but also have the necessary skill to be a front-line spin or a front-line seam bowler. We think he certainly fits the bill. We are hopeful that when he gets that opportunity, he shows what he can do. Over the past few years, we have seen enough, maybe even more. He seems to have the necessary skill to succeed at this level," Agarkar said about Dubey. Apart from Arshdeep Singh and Prasidh Krishna, Prince and Gurnoor will be part of the pace attack for the 50-over matches. Prince finished as the highest wicket-taker for his team and the fifth highest wicket-taker for the season overall in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, taking 18 wickets at an average of 19.27. Punjab pacer Gurnoor picked up 11 wickets in eight matches in the same tournament. Regarding the call-ups to Prince and Gurnoor, Agarkar added: "There were a couple of guys who were injured who were part of the one-day squad before. With Gurnoor, we have seen a lot of promise over the last season and a half. He is a tall guy with a bit of pace. Keeping the South Africa World Cup in mind, we are obviously going to try a few guys who at that point might be useful if they keep developing. Prince Yadav has shown a lot of promise through the domestic season. Obviously, he bowled well in the IPL. "Over the past year or so, we have seen that he has grown a lot as a bowler. Again, he has the necessary skills to succeed with the white ball. It is a great opportunity with these three ODIs coming up because with the way the rules are structured and so much is in favour of the batsmen, you are obviously looking at guys with regards to conditions in South Africa who have a chance of succeeding," he said. The ODI series follows the one-off Test between India and Afghanistan. The first ODI, which was to be played in June 14 in Dharamsala, has been rescheduled to June 13. This will be followed by matches in Lucknow and Chennai on June 17 and June 20 respectively. All ODIs are day-night games starting at 1:30 PM IST.