The next ODI series of the Indian cricket team is against England in July, for which BCCI has announced the squad. Emerging opening batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal is not in the team for this series. Many fans and cricket veterans are not liking this decision of the selectors, because Yashasvi had scored a century in India’s last ODI. He played an important role in the victory by playing an unbeaten inning of 110 runs. Now a big statement has come from Congress MP Shashi Tharoor regarding this.

Shashi Tharoor has taken a dig at the selectors’ decision to drop Yashasvi Jaiswal, comparing what is happening with the opening batsman to what is happening with Sanju Samson. He said that it is difficult to be a top order batsman in India. He described it as the situation similar to that for spinners in the 1960s.

What did Shashi Tharoor say

Shashi Tharoor wrote on ‘X’, “Being a top-order batsman in India is a tough job! Yashasvi Jaiswal is going through the same phase that Sanju Samson went through in 2024-25. That is, being dropped after scoring a century. This is as bad as it was to be a world-class spinner in the 1960s.”

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Why couldn’t Yashasvi Jaiswal’s place be filled?

Let us remind you that Yashasvi Jaiswal was not selected even in the ODI team against Afghanistan. But before the start of the series, senior player Virat Kohli was out due to injury, after which Yashasvi came into the team as a replacement.

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Virat Kohli has returned to the team for the England tour. The news is that he has passed his fitness test. Actually, regarding Kohli, BCCI had clarified that his playing against England will depend on his fitness. Yashasvi’s place could not be filled due to Kohli’s entry into the team.

The Indian cricket team reached Kangra Airport on Thursday for the first ODI against Afghanistan, where a large number of fans were standing to welcome the cricketers. Fans were very excited to see players like Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul etc. India vs Afghanistan 1st ODI will be played at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala.

Before this, all the Indian players were practicing in Mohali, where Rohit Sharma had also joined the team. He joined the team after passing the fitness test at the Center of Excellence. When the players reached Dharamshala on Thursday, everyone’s attention was drawn to Team India’s new travel kit.

This is the first ODI series with the national team of Prince Yadav, Harsh Dubey and Gurnoor Brar. Prince was behind Rohit Sharma while leaving the airport. In this series, fans will miss Virat Kohli, who was included in the squad but had to be ruled out due to injury. Hardik Pandya is also out due to injury.

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Rohit Sharma and Team India have reached Dharamshala for the first ODI against Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/4CgXr44SrY

— ⁴⁵ (@rushiii_12) June 11, 2026

India’s ODI squad against Afghanistan

Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wicket), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Gurnoor Brar, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Prince Yadav.

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India vs Afghanistan ODI Schedule

• June 13 (Saturday), Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamshala.
• 17 June (Wednesday), Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium, Lucknow.
• June 20 (Sunday), M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.