Team India have already begun training at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi ahead of the first T20 match against Afghanistan on Sunday.
Updated: September 11, 2026, 11:15 AM IST
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Morne Morkel (left) and Gautam Gambhir(Photo: IANS)
India vs Afghanistan 2026 1st T20: Team India are set to begin a three-match T20I series against Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday, September 13While majority of the squad as well as the support staff have already assembled in the national Capital and already started training, India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel is not among them.
In fact, former South Africa pacer Morne Morkel hasn’t event arrived in the country ahead of the T20I series against the AfghanistanAccording to a report by IANS news agency, Morkel’s arrival in India has been delayed due to visa-related issues.
It is believed that Morkel is yet to receive extension on his work visa which has delayed his arrival in the country“Morne had visa issues, but he should be here soon once it’s solved,” BCCI sources were quoted as saying by IANS news agency.
Some #TeamIndia
Bowling coach Morne Morkel was absent from Team India’s training session at KotlaHe is in South Africa and sorting his work visa renewal.
He is expected to join in a few days.#IndvAfg #IndianCricketTeam— Kushan Sarkar (@kushansarkar) September 10, 2026
Morkel joined Team India as the bowling coach after Gautam Gambhir took over as the head coach of the side replacing Rahul DravidThe 41-year-old claimed 309 Test wickets, 188 ODI scalps and 47 in T20I matches for South Africa in his careerHe also picked up 77 wickets in 70 matches in his IPL career.
Meanwhile, it is also understood that physiotherapist Kamlesh Jain has resigned from his position with the Indian team “About Kamlesh, it’s yet to be known when he will be here,” BCCI sources informed IANS.
Before joining the Indian team in June 2022, Kamlesh Jain previously served as the head physiotherapist after starting in an assistant role for three-time IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) from 2012 to 2022.
He also worked with Bengal senior men’s domestic team from September 2011 to March 2017With Jain already resigning from his position, the BCCI is expected to begin the process of finding his replacement shortly.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians pacer Jasprit Bumrah joined Team India late on Thursday evening after being cleared by the Centre of Excellence (CoE) earlier in the dayIshan Kishan, Tilak Varma, and young batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who were involved in the recently concluded Duleep Trophy 2026 final in Chennai, were also expected to arrive in the national Capital later in the day.
The first T20I is set to go ahead as schedule on Sunday, after the DDCA issued a statement via ‘X’ on Thursday that there was no change in the date due to BRICS event scheduled over the weekendThe clarification came after reports suggested that the opening game could be rescheduled owing to security arrangements for the high-profile BRICS summit in the national capital.
India’s updated squad for Afghanistan T20Is
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, Yash Thakur
