India have announced a 15-member squad for their upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan in New Delhi, with several senior players returning to the setup. However, Hardik Pandya remains absent as the all-rounder continues to work towards regaining full fitness for competitive cricket. One of the biggest talking points from the squad announcement was the asterisk placed against the names of four players.

Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar have all been selected subject to fitness clearance. The unusual nature of the selections reflects the cautious approach currently being adopted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Recent instances of players returning from injuries only to suffer further setbacks have encouraged the board and team management to take fewer risks with fitness assessments.

Harshit Rana is one such example. The fast bowler spent around five months on the sidelines because of a knee injury before returning during India’s Ireland and England tours earlier this year. He played all five T20Is on that trip but subsequently missed the three-match ODI series in England after another fitness concern emerged. Prince Yadav was brought into the squad as his replacement.

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Bumrah’s recent workload has also required careful management. The premier fast bowler featured in two of India’s three ODIs against England and was initially expected to lead the pace attack during the Test series in Sri Lanka. However, he was withdrawn before the tour began and replaced by Auqib Nabi.

Top-order batter Sai Sudharsan faced a similar situation. He was originally selected for the Sri Lanka tour but could not recover in time and was replaced by Sarfaraz Khan. There have been other late changes as well. Suryansh Shedge made his India debut after replacing Nitish Reddy, while Ravi Bishnoi came into the squad in place of Varun Chakaravarthy for the Zimbabwe T20Is.

India’s squad for Afghanistan T20I series announced. #TeamIndia will play three T20Is against Afghanistan at New Delhi, beginning September 13.#AFGvIND pic.twitter.com/UqTUeZyHz8

— BCCI (@BCCI) September 1, 2026

The repeated injuries and last-minute withdrawals have also raised questions about the rehabilitation process at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE). As a result, the selection committee is now believed to be demanding a much higher level of confidence before clearing players for international duty. A source told Cricbuzz that the medical team and management want to be “200 per cent confident” about a player’s availability before releasing them for India duty.

BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia previously explained why players recovering from injuries can still be included in squads with an asterisk. According to Saikia, selection meetings are generally held three to four weeks before a team travels, meaning a player’s fitness can change significantly between selection and the start of a series.

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The ‘subject to fitness’ designation therefore allows selectors to retain a player’s place while giving them additional time to complete rehabilitation.

This approach ensures that players are not prematurely ruled out simply because they are unavailable on the day of selection. At the same time, the BCCI can reassess their fitness closer to the series. With India’s Afghanistan T20I series approaching, the final availability of Bumrah, Rana, Reddy and Sundar will remain a key point of interest before the team takes the field in New Delhi.