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India
Afghanistan
India will begin the Afghanistan tour of India with the only Test match in New Chandigarh. This will be just the second Test meeting between the two teams.
Their previous Test encounter came in 2018 when India secured a dominant victory. India will start as the stronger side, but Afghanistan will arrive with more experience and confidence than they had 8 years ago.
Afghanistan have improved significantly in international cricket and has regularly challenged top teams across formats. The visitors will rely on their disciplined bowling attack and determined batting unit to stay competitive.
Hashmatullah Shahidi will lead the Afghan side, while Shubman Gill will captain India in this one-off Test. Both teams have included several young players who will look to make an impact at the highest level.
Shubman Gill averages over 70 in his last 9 Tests and arrives in strong form, making him a strong candidate to convert his start into a fifty against an Afghanistan attack missing Rashid Khan.
The betting tip is...
Shubman Gill to score a fifty.
60 %
40 %
IndiaAfghanistanJasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja have been rested, while KL Rahul is named vice-captain under skipper Shubman Gill. The match marked India's first Test since the 2-0 home series defeat against South Africa in November.
Axar Patel and Akash Deep were also omitted. Rajasthan all-rounder Manav Suthar and Punjab pacer Gurnoor Brar received their maiden Test call-ups. Vidarbha left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey was also included after strong domestic performances. Dubey, Brar and fast bowler Prince Yadav earned their first ODI call-ups for the upcoming 3-match series.
Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya returned to India's ODI setup. Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Ayush Badoni, Harshit Rana and Mohammed Siraj were left out of the ODI squad that followed the 2-1 home series loss to New Zealand in January.
Gill, Rahul and Siraj are the key players.
Predicted Lineup: Shubman Gill (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (wk), Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Rishabh Pant, Harsh Dubey, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna.
Hashmatullah Shahidi is the captain of both the Test and ODI teams for the India tour. Afghanistan named several new faces in their squad for the one-off Test against India.
Nangyal Kharotai, Bilal Sami and Rahmanullah Zadran received their maiden Test call-ups, while Qais Ahmad returned to the side. Afghanistan comes into the series after last playing Test cricket against Zimbabwe in October 2025.
Ibrahim Zadran was rested as he recovered from a leg injury. Rashid Khan was also rested after being advised by doctors to reduce his red-ball workload. Rashid had previously revealed that he bowled more than 120 overs across two innings against Zimbabwe despite medical concerns.
As Afghanistan is not part of the World Test Championship, Rashid had limited his involvement in the longest format. Both Rashid and Ibrahim remain available for the ODI series against India.
Gurbaz, Rahmat and Omarzai are the key players.
Predicted Lineup: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Abdul Malik, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Afsar Zazai, Azmatullah Omarzai, Sharafudin Ashraf, Qais Ahmad, Bilal Sami and Saleem Safi.
India will start this Test as clear favourites because of their stronger batting depth and home conditions. Afghanistan have improved in recent years, but they will face a difficult challenge against an experienced Indian side. Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan are coming into this match with strong recent form, which will strengthen India's top order.
Gill has been particularly consistent in red-ball cricket, averaging more than 70 across his last 9 matches in the format.
His ability to play long innings will be crucial in helping India build a big first-innings total. Afghanistan's bowling attack is missing Rashid Khan, which could make it harder for them to contain India's batters over long periods. Expect India to control most sessions of the match, with Gill likely to play a major role with the bat.
