Ajit Agarkar, the Chief Selector of the BCCI, announced that 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has earned a spot in the India A team due to his impressive performances. The selectors aim to gradually introduce young talents to higher levels of competitive cricket. Sooryavanshi, who has been making waves in the IPL 2026 season, has been included in the India A squad for an upcoming one-day tri-series in Sri Lanka set for June. The opener for Rajasthan Royals has scored 486 runs in 12 matches this season, boasting an extraordinary strike rate of 234.78, making him the eighth-highest run-scorer of the season.

During the announcement of India's Test and ODI squads for the Afghanistan series, Agarkar emphasized the importance of providing opportunities for young players to gain experience at the appropriate stages of their careers. He remarked, "We've selected him for the A team because he is young and has shown great promise. We aim to give them exposure and experience whenever possible. Let's not forget Yashasvi Jaiswal, who recently scored a century for India but is not part of the one-day setup."

Agarkar acknowledged that while Sooryavanshi has shone in the IPL, there are numerous other players consistently performing at both domestic and international levels. He expressed excitement about Sooryavanshi's IPL achievements and hopes he can replicate that success with the India A team.

India is set to compete against Afghanistan in a three-match ODI series from June 14 to June 20, following a one-off Test match starting on June 6. Shubman Gill will captain the team in both formats, with KL Rahul serving as vice-captain in the Test format, taking over from Rishabh Pant. Shreyas Iyer has been appointed vice-captain for the ODI series.

The Test squad includes: Shubman Gill (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (vice-captain), Rishabh Pant (wk), Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Manav Suthar, Harsh Dubey, and Gurnoor Brar.

The ODI squad features: Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vc), KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, and Harsh Dubey.

Note: The inclusion of Rohit and Hardik in the ODI squad is contingent upon fitness clearance.