New Delhi: On Tuesday, the selectors announced the 15-member Indian squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Afghanistan. Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant failed to make it into the squad. Pant has struggled with the bat during the current IPL season, and Lucknow Super Giants - the team he captains - have already crashed out of the play-off race.
Apart from this, the Indian selectors have included Harsh Dubey, Gurnoor Brar and Prince Yadav in the team for the first time. Led by captain Shubman Gill, the team also features senior batsmen Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, while pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for the series. The Test vice-captaincy has been handed over to KL Rahul.
In excellent form at the moment, Sanju Samson played a key role in helping India win the T20 World Cup recently. Since that success, he has continued his impressive form in the IPL; this season, in 13 innings, he has scored 477 runs - including two centuries and two half-centuries. However, Sanju is still waiting for a return to the ODI team. He might have hoped this time that, after his impressive performance in the T20 format, the doors of the ODI team might finally open for him; however, for now, that has not happened