Cricket

AB de Villiers identifies Tilak Varma dilemma as India prepare for T20I series vs Afghanistan

September 11, 2026

Following their back-to-back T20 World Cup title earlier in 2026, India entered a difficult stretch under new skipper Shreyas Iyer, suffering six consecutive defeats across bilateral contests with Ireland and England before rebounding with a 3-0 clean sweep against Zimbabwe. As they prepare to launch a three-game series against Afghanistan on Saturday, September 13, to be followed by an inaugural T20I encounter with Japan and the 2026 Asian Games, South African great AB de Villiers warned on his YouTube channel that setting the lineup remains a delicate puzzle.

Assessing a lineup featuring options such as Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi alongside numerous all-rounders, de Villiers stressed that India must establish distinct clarity of assignments to counter a dangerous Afghan opponent. India's selected squad for the upcoming matches includes captain Iyer, Varma, Kishan, Samson, Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, and Yash Thakur.