Krunal Pandya's Message: Hope is Still Alive

Krunal Pandya left out again, but message is clear: he’s not done yet.

The 35-year-old all-rounder, overlooked for India’s three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, responded within hours of the squad announcement with a three-word post on social media: “Hope is still alive”. Short. Stark. Loaded.

For a player who has spent the last few seasons trying to force his way back into the international conversation, it read less like a platitude and more like a statement of intent.

A door not quite shut

Krunal hasn’t pulled on an India jersey since the 2021 T20I series in Sri Lanka. For many, that would have been the quiet end of a brief international chapter. He has refused to treat it that way.

His IPL 2026 campaign for Royal Challengers Bengaluru put him back on the radar. Fourteen wickets, control through the middle overs, and the familiar utility of a left-arm spinner who can bat. In a format where balance is everything, he ticked boxes the selectors have been actively examining.

India’s recent T20I stretch in Ireland and England underlined that search. Axar Patel, long seen as the primary left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder, played all seven matches but finished with just four wickets — two against Ireland, two across four games against England. The numbers weren’t disastrous, but they weren’t compelling either.

Krunal’s name naturally re-entered the conversation. He had form, experience, and a clearly defined role. Yet when the squad for the Afghanistan series at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on September 13, 15 and 17 dropped, his name wasn’t there.

The post came soon after. No rant, no explanation. Just that quiet reminder: he’s still chasing it.

Selectors juggle form, fitness and futures

While Krunal waits, the selectors have plenty of moving pieces to manage.

The headline is Jasprit Bumrah. India’s pace spearhead returns to the T20I squad, but only if he clears fitness tests after an impact injury to his knee during the ODI series in England. That blow sidelined him from the two-Test tour of Sri Lanka, with the BCCI medical team ordering rest.

He isn’t the only one under watch. Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana have all been named with an asterisk — each subject to fitness clearance.

Rana picked up a Grade 1 hamstring injury during the third T20I against England. Washington, who has endured a frustrating run of injuries over the past few years, suffered another hamstring issue in the third ODI of that same tour. Reddy has also been working his way back from an injury that kept him out of India’s recent assignments.

The message from the selectors is clear: the door is open, but only for those the medical team can sign off on.

Hardik’s latest setback

Hovering over all of this is the continued absence of Hardik Pandya.

As previously reported, the all-rounder was tracking towards a return, only for a late leg niggle at the BCCI Centre of Excellence to derail those plans. He hasn’t played any competitive cricket since turning out for Mumbai Indians on May 24, and his last India appearance came on March 8 in the T20 World Cup final.

For a side that has long viewed him as the balance point in white-ball cricket, his prolonged stop-start run only heightens the scrutiny on the next generation of all-rounders — and on players like Krunal, who still believe they can fill a role.

A series with subplots

Afghanistan’s visit to New Delhi for three T20Is might look, on paper, like a routine home assignment. It isn’t.

All three matches at the Arun Jaitley Stadium will feed into a larger selection puzzle. Shreyas Iyer leads the side, with Tilak Varma as vice-captain. The squad features a mix of established names and players still trying to nail down permanent spots:

• Shreyas Iyer (c)
• Abhishek Sharma
• Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
• Sanju Samson (wk)
• Ishan Kishan (wk)
• Tilak Varma (vc)
• Shivam Dube
• Nitish Kumar Reddy*
• Axar Patel
• Washington Sundar*
• Varun Chakaravarthy
• Ravi Bishnoi
• Jasprit Bumrah*
• Arshdeep Singh
• Harshit Rana*

(*Subject to fitness clearance)

Axar stays in, despite modest recent returns. Washington, if cleared, offers spin and batting depth. Varun Chakaravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi add mystery and bite. The pace attack, with Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh, has the potential to be ruthless if everyone is fit.

And somewhere outside that circle stands Krunal Pandya, armed with numbers, experience, and a three-word message that refuses to let his international story end just yet.

The squad sheet for Afghanistan doesn’t carry his name. But his post makes one thing plain: he’s betting that another one will.