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The Indian men’s cricket team will kick off their 2026-27 season with a home series against Afghanistan in June 2026. The Indian team will host the Afghans for a one-off Test and three ODI matches. The Test match between the two teams is scheduled to take place at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur from June 6 to 10, and Dharamsala, Lucknow and Chennai will host three ODI matches on June 14, 17 and 20, respectively.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selectors are set to meet on Tuesday (May 19) to pick India’s squads for the Afghanistan series (both Test and ODIs). It has been reported that the Ajit Agarkar-led senior men’s selection committee is not going to experiment with the red ball format
squad despite Afghanistan not being part of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle.
According to news agency PTI, the tried and tested faces in the past year are expected to fill the Test squad with an eye on the away series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand.
It was reported by Times of India earlier this week that star fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah will be rested for the one-off Test, but according to PTI, Bumrah is unlikely to skip the entire two-week series.
As per PTI sources, the 32-year-old fast bowler from Ahmedabad will play either the one-off Test or the ODI series. Since the Afghanistan Test is not part of the WTC cycle, he could be given rest for the one-off game and play the ODI series instead.
Bumrah last played an ODI match for India during the ODI World Cup 2023 final against Australia in Ahmedabad on November 19, 2023.
If Bumrah doesn’t play the Test, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna will lead the fast bowling attack, and in the absence of Akash Deep and Harshit Rana, Jammu and Kashmir seamer Auqib Nabi could earn his maiden India call-up.
Nabi played a big role in Jammu and Kashmir’s maiden Ranji Trophy title win earlier this year. He finished as the highest wicket-taker in the tournament.
But if Bumrah plays, then Nabi might have to wait for his turn, as not more than three frontline fast bowlers would be picked for a Test match in India, where spinners call the shots.
Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Washington are set to be India’s automatic choices for the spinner’s role despite their poor performances in the IPL 2026. From the squad that was picked against South Africa, Axar Patel’s place could be under scanner in the longest format. Rajasthan spinner Manav Suthar could give Axar a tough competition. The two wicketkeepers — Rishabh Pant and Jurel — are automatic choices in the Test format.
There has been a lot of talk about changes in the Test squad, but in all likelihood Devdutt Padikkal, who was also a part of the team that was thrashed by South Africa last year, might replace Sai Sudharsan at No. 3 in the batting line-up. The other options for that slot will be Washington Sundar, who has batted at No. 3 for Tamil Nadu, and Dhruv Jurel as a specialist batter.
India’s likely squad for one-off Test vs Afghanistan: Shubman Gill (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Washington Sundar, Dhurv Jurel (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Auqib Nabi Dar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Devdutt Padikkal, Harsh Dubey
