India have suffered an injury scare just two days before their opening T20I against Afghanistan, with Ishan Kishan appearing to hurt his back during a practice session in Delhi on Friday, September 11.
Kishan, who recently guided East Zone to the Duleep Trophy title, was batting in the nets when he appeared to be troubled while attempting to duck a bouncer from Navdeep Saini, who was bowling as a net bowler for the Indian team.
The team physios immediately attended to the wicketkeeper-batter, who appeared to be in some discomfort. The incident occurred towards the end of Kishan’s 45-minute batting session, and he did not resume batting afterwards.
However, there were some positive signs as Kishan was able to walk off the field on his own. He was also seen sitting on an ice box with his teammates before leaving the ground. The incident did not appear to be serious from the visuals available, although the team will be hoping for a quick assessment.
Kishan was in good touch
Before the injury scare, Kishan looked fluent during his batting session. He displayed good rhythm and strokeplay while batting alongside captain Shreyas Iyer.
At the other end, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was seen batting with Sanju Samson, with the duo potentially competing for the opening slot in Sunday’s match.
Kishan has established himself as an important member of India’s T20I setup since returning to the national side. Following an impressive run in last year’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batter earned his place in the Indian team ahead of the T20 World Cup.
The 2026 season has been particularly productive for Kishan, who has scored 812 runs in 23 T20Is, the second-highest tally in the format this year.
India will be hoping that Kishan’s back issue is only a minor concern, especially with the wicketkeeper-batter also scheduled to travel to Japan as part of India’s Asian Games squad.
India and Afghanistan will meet in the first T20I on Sunday, September 13.
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