Choosing the right India vs. Afghanistan captain picks for the 2026 ODI series can make a big difference in your fantasy cricket team. The series has three ODIs in Dharamsala, Lucknow, and Chennai. Both squads are packed with match-winners. The right Dream11 captain choice gives you double points on every run and wicket. The right vice captain picks 2026 to give you 1.5x points. This guide covers the best C and VC picks for every match in the India vs. Afghanistan fantasy setup on FairPlay, based on official squad data and current form.
Quick C and VC Picks at a Glance
- Virat Kohli is the safest captain pick for all three ODIs. He averages 67 against Afghanistan. He bats at number three and faces a lot of balls.
- Shubman Gill is a strong vice-captain. He opens, faces the most balls, and is in the best batting form of his career in 2026.
- Rashid Khan is the top all-round pick and a great captain option if you want a differential. He bats and bowls.
- Kuldeep Yadav is a strong VC from the bowling side. He is India's main wicket-taker with Bumrah rested.
- Ibrahim Zadran is Afghanistan's best batting captain option. He scored 177 off 146 against England at the 2025 Champions Trophy.
- Azmatullah Omarzai is a strong all-around VC from the Afghan side. He won the ICC Men's ODI Cricketer of the Year award in 2024.
- Rohit Sharma is in the squad but needs to clear a BCCI fitness test before playing.
Why Virat Kohli Is the Number One Captain Pick
Virat Kohli as the Best India vs. Afghanistan Captain Pick
Virat Kohli is the strongest India vs. Afghanistan captain pick option for all three ODIs. He bats at number three for India. He faces a lot of deliveries in the middle overs. He has 51 ODI centuries and averages 57.88 across 302 ODI matches. Against Afghanistan specifically, his average is 67. He scored 122 not out off 61 balls against them at the 2022 Asia Cup. He followed that with 55 not out at the 2023 ODI World Cup. These numbers show he is very comfortable against Afghan bowling.
As the Dream11 captain choice for India, Kohli is ideal for almost every match in this series. The Chennai pitch is spin-friendly. Kohli plays spin very well with soft hands and good footwork. The Dharamsala ground has good pace. Kohli handles pace equally well. His ability to adjust to different surfaces makes him a reliable captain at all three venues. If you want the safest India vs Afghanistan fantasy captain in any game, Kohli is your answer.
Shubman Gill as Vice Captain Picks 2026
Why Gill Works as a Vice Captain in Fantasy Cricket
Shubman Gill is the best vice-captain pick and 2026 option from India's batting group for this series. He opens the innings and faces the first ball of every ODI. He is India's ODI captain on this tour. He has been in strong form all through 2026. India won the T20 World Cup in February 2026, and Gill played a big role in that campaign. In the IPL that followed, he scored well for his franchise too.
Gill averages 66.10 in his first 35 ODIs. He has six centuries in that stretch. Opening batters who also serve as team captains are always strong fantasy cricket picks because they bat at the top of the order and influence the game from the first over. As a vice captain picks the 2026 choice, he gives you 1.5x points on every run, and with Gill's form, those can add up quickly over 50 overs. He is the VC pick if Kohli is your captain.
Rashid Khan, the Differential Captain Option
Rashid Khan is one of the most interesting India vs Afghanistan captain picks in the ODI series. He bats in the lower order and bowls in the middle overs. He can earn points with both bat and ball in the same game. He has close to 200 ODI wickets at an economy rate of 4.20. He has taken five or more wickets in an ODI innings multiple times. He is not easy to score off, which means he is likely to bowl all 10 overs in every match.
As a Dream11 captain choice, Rashid is the best differential pick in this series. Most people will captain Kohli or Gill. If you have Captain Rashid and he takes four or five wickets while also scoring 20 or 30 batting lower in the order, your team jumps ahead of most others. On the Chennai pitch, especially, a wrist-spinner with his ability will get a lot of help. Rashid Khan as captain at Chennai is a very smart India vs. Afghanistan fantasy play.
Kuldeep Yadav as a Bowler Vice-Captain Option
Kuldeep Yadav deserves a place in your best C and VC picks thinking for this series. Jasprit Bumrah has been rested, which means Kuldeep becomes India's top wicket-taker in white-ball cricket for these three matches. He has been one of India's most consistent ODI bowlers over the past two years. He gets good revs on the ball. He has a strong googol. He uses the crease well. Against Afghanistan's batters, who are very comfortable against leg spin and off spin, Kuldeep's left-arm wrist spin offers a different look.
As a vice captain picks the 2026 option from India's bowling group, Kuldeep gives your fantasy cricket team dual value. He takes wickets. He is likely to bowl a full 10-over spell. And at Chennai, the pitch will turn, which helps him significantly. The combination of Kohli as captain and Kuldeep as vice-captain covers both batting and bowling points and is one of the most balanced and best C and VC pick approaches for the series.
Ibrahim Zadran for Afghanistan Captain Picks
If you are building an India vs. Afghanistan fantasy team heavy on Afghan players, Ibrahim Zadran is the captain to back. He is Afghanistan's most in-form batter. He scored 177 off 146 balls against England at the 2025 Champions Trophy, which is the highest individual ODI score in Afghan history. He opens the batting and faces the new ball in every inning. He has six ODI centuries. He averages 51 in his first 35 ODIs.
As a Dream11 captain choice from the Afghan side, Zadran carries the same logic as Kohli does from India. He opens, he faces the most balls, and he can score big. Pairing Zadran as captain with Omarzai or Gurbaz as vice-captain gives a strong all-Afghan scoring combination if you want to take a bold squad approach in any of the three ODIs.
Azmatullah Omarzai as Vice Captain from Afghanistan
Azmatullah Omarzai is Afghanistan's best all-around vice captain pick for 2026. He won the ICC Men's ODI Cricketer of the Year award in 2024. He bats at number six or seven and scores at a very high strike rate. He also takes useful wickets with his medium pace. In the same 2025 Champions Trophy match where Zadran scored 177, Omarzai hit 41 off 31 balls at the end of the innings to push Afghanistan past 325. That kind of finishing ability earns big fantasy points in the death overs.
As a fantasy cricket VC for the Afghanistan ODIs, Omarzai is a smart pick because he has two ways to score points. He can hit a fast 30 or 40 in the back end of Afghanistan's innings and then take two or three wickets in India's middle overs. That combination of points can make him the best-performing player on your team on a good day.
Summing Up the Best Captain and Vice Captain Picks
The India vs Afghanistan captain picks for the 2026 ODI series come down to a few clear choices. Virat Kohli is the safest captain pick in any match. Shubman Gill is the strongest vice-captain from India's batting group. Rashid Khan is the best differential captain if you want to stand out from the crowd. Kuldeep Yadav works as a bowling VC with Bumrah absent. From Afghanistan's side, Ibrahim Zadran and Azmatullah Omarzai are the top C and VC picks. Whether you play on FairPlay or any other fantasy cricket platform, these picks give you the best coverage across batting, bowling, and all-round performance in all three ODIs.