India has been dealt an injury scare ahead of their opening T20I against Afghanistan, with Ishan Kishan seemingly hurting his back during a practice session on Friday, September 11.

The 23-year-old opener had joined the Indian squad following his leadership of East Zone to the Duleep Trophy title, and was batting in the nets when he appeared to twist his back while trying to duck a bouncer from Navdeep Saini, who was bowling for the Indian team.

Ishan Kishan receives medical attention during practice

The Indian team's physios were quick to respond when Ishan Kishan looked like he was in discomfort. The 27-year-old's issue appeared to occur at the tail-end of his 45-minute batting session, and he was unable to return to the nets.

However, the situation appeared to be under control as Ishan Kishan was able to walk off without any help. The wicketkeeper-batter was later seen perched on the ice box with his teammates before ultimately walking off on his own. Given what transpired on the boundary, the problem did not seem to be severe. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen how he will fare before the T20I on Sunday.

Kishan had looked in tremendous form prior to this setback. The Jharkhand batsman, who is left-handed, was fluent while at the crease. He batted alongside skipper Shreyas Iyer before Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, and the captain Sanju Samson also faced a couple of balls together.

The latter two are expected to contend for the opening slot against Afghanistan. Kishan has been in fine form this year after being recalled to the T20I squad.

The player has had a prolific 2026, smashing 812 runs in 23 T20I innings, the second-highest this year. The Indian team management will be hoping that the injury is not serious, as Kishan is also set to play for India in the Asian Games, which start in Japan.

India will battle it out with Afghanistan in the first T20I at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday, September 13.