Vaibhav Sooryavanshi left out of India XI for Afghanistan T20I

India omitted 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi from the playing XI for the first T20I against Afghanistan at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday. Sanju Samson returned to the side and opened alongside Abhishek Sharma after India won the toss and elected to bowl first. Afghanistan captain Ibrahim Zadran said his team had prepared specific plans for the teenager.

Sooryavanshi had been named player of the series in India's preceding T20I series against Zimbabwe. The selection choice leaves three openers in the squad with only two spots available. Dinesh Karthik questioned where Samson stands in the long-term T20I plans after his early dismissal for 10 runs.

The three-match series serves as preparation for India's Asian Games campaign. Afghanistan reached 156 for eight after Azmatullah Omarzai's unbeaten 64 following a top-order collapse to 43 for five.