already lead the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan 2-0. For the third and final match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday, they made one change in the line-up: Vidarbha seamer replaced Arshdeep Singh. Afghanistan captain won the toss and elected to bowl, giving India their first bat-first assignment of the series and handing Thakur his first home appearance.
Notably, Yash Thakur had already been added to the squad last week after Harshit Rana was ruled out. Thursday’s decision was about rotation after Arshdeep Singh had been India’s reliable seamer in the first two games.
confirmed the change at the toss. “We would have batted first. It also gives us a fun challenge. It’s important that we stick to the moment and not complicate things. One change – Yash comes in for Arshdeep,” he said.
Iyer also made it clear India would not treat the dead rubber as a free hit. “See, there is no room for complacency. It’s important that we stick to the moment and see to it that we are basically backing our instincts and not complicating things. Obviously, we are batting first. That doesn’t mean that we are going to go completely berserk. We need to adapt,” he added.
was born in Kolkata on 28 December 1998. He is a right-arm fast-medium bowler who represents Vidarbha in domestic cricket. He made his T20I debut in Zimbabwe in July and took four wickets in two matches. The later named him as Harshit Rana’s replacement for this series and the . “Yash, the 27-year-old fast bowler from Vidarbha, recently made his T20I debut during India’s tour of Zimbabwe in July. He played two matches and took four wickets. He has featured in 50 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches, picking up 81 wickets at an impressive economy rate of 7.04,” the board said.
He has built his case away from the spotlight. In first-class cricket, Yash Thakur has 97 wickets. In List A cricket, he has 90 wickets from 57 matches. In T20s, he has taken 114 scalps. Last season, Yash was Vidarbha’s leading wicket-taker in the Vijay Hazare Trophy with 19 wickets, including 4/6 against Baroda and 4/50 in the final against Saurashtra.
Yash Thakur first played in the with Lucknow Super Giants in 2023, taking 4/37 against Punjab Kings. In 2024, he produced 5/30 against Gujarat Titans, dismissing Shubman Gill, Rashid Khan and others in the same spell. He joined Punjab Kings for IPL 2025 and has remained with Iyer’s franchise since.
With the series already won and Jasprit Bumrah back from injury, India used the last Delhi night to give another seamer match time before the Asian Games quarterfinal on 28 September.
Sanju Samson(w),, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer(c), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Yash Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah
