In an expected move, Rohit Sharma returned as India's T20I captain for the 3-match series versus Afghanistan while Virat Kohli was also named in the team.
Both the stalwarts will play T20Is for India after a gap of over one year. They last represented the country in the 2022 T20 World Cup.
Apart from Kohli and Sharma, Sanju Samson also returns to the squad.
Regulars Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav are unavailable due to injuries while top pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohd Siraj were also omitted from the squad.
India play Afghanistan starting January 11 till January 14. A 5-match Test series against England will follow which will commence on January 25.
India's Squad for series vs AFG:
Rohit Sharma (C), S Gill, Y Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, W Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar