New Delhi: India will face Afghanistan in the second quarterfinal of the men’s cricket competition at the 2026 Asian Games on Monday (September 28). For the match scheduled to take place at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin, Jasprit Bumrah is all set to return to India’s playing XI.
Bumrah played all three T20Is for India against Afghanistan in New Delhi last week but was rested for the one-off T20I against Japan in Sano on Tuesday (September 22).
In all likelihood, he will replace Vidarbha pacer Yash Thakur in the playing XI.
Thakur played the third T20I against Afghanistan on September 17 and the one-off T20I against Japan on September 22, but didn’t bowl even a single over in the rain-curtailed five-overs-per-side contest against the Japanese team.
In addition to Bumrah, the Indian team management could also consider including 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the playing XI.
Vaibhav hasn’t played a T20I match for India since July 26, 2026, and in that fixture, he scored a brilliant half-century to win the Player of the Match award.
The young left-handed batter from Bihar could replace Shivam Dube in the playing XI. Dube has played all four T20Is this month but failed to impress either with his batting or bowling.
If Vaibhav breaks into the XI, he could open the innings with Abhishek Sharma, with Sanju Samson moving to No. 3. Samson has batted at No. 3 for many years in the IPL for Rajasthan Royals.
In the knockout match against Afghanistan, India will have high expectations from Abhishek, who won the Player of the Series award in the three-match T20I series between the two teams earlier this month. In addition to him, Ishan Kishan and Samson will also be key players for the Men in Blue.
In the one-off T20I against Japan earlier this week, Ravi Bishnoi, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar bowled all five overs of spin, and they are expected to play a big role in the quarterfinal as well on Monday.
India’s likely playing XI for the second quarterfinal against Afghanistan: Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh.
