Indian men’s cricket team will play their first Test match of the calendar year 2026 against Afghanistan this week. The one-off Test match between India and Afghanistan , which is scheduled to take place
at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh, will start on Saturday (June 6). Shubman Gill, who was appointed as India’s full-time Test captain in May 2025, will captain the hosts.
Gill, who amassed a total of 754 runs for India in his first-ever Test series as captain, missed India’s last Test match against South Africa in Guwahati last year due to a neck injury that he suffered while batting in the first Test against South Africa at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Gill, who finished as the second-highest run-scorer in IPL 2026, is expected to bat at his usual No. 4 position against Afghanistan in the first-ever Test match at Mullanpur.
Gill, who made his Test debut as an opener, batted at No. 3 in 2023 and 2024 before taking over the No. 4 role after Virat Kohli’s retirement. He has scored 939 runs in 13 innings of eight Tests as a No. 4 batter.
It will, however, be interesting to see who bats at No. 3 against Afghanistan, as Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul are set to be the two openers. Sai Sudharsan was India’s No. 3 batter in the second Test against the Proteas, whereas Washington Sundar batted at No. 3 in the series opener.
In addition to them, left-handed batter Devdutt Padikkal is also in line to bat at No. 3. Padikkal was in red-hot form for RCB in the 2026 edition of the IPL and could be considered for the crucial batting position.
If Padikkal is not preferred over Sudharsan for the No. 3 role, then he is likely to bat at No. 5. The other candidate for the No. 5 batter’s role is Dhruv Jurel. Like Padikkal, Jurel is also in red-hot form these days and, in the presence of Pant, could play as a specialist batter.
Rishabh Pant has been sacked as India’s Test vice-captain, but he is set to remain India’s first-choice wicketkeeper-batter.
Sundar is a certain starter for India in the Afghanistan Test, along with fast-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy and spinner Kuldeep Yadav, but there is a toss-up between Vidarbha’s Harsh Dubey and Rajasthan’s Manav Suthar. Both are quality spin-bowling all-rounders who have performed very well in domestic cricket. One of them is certain to make his Test debut for India in Mullanpur.
Mohammed Siraj will lead India’s fast-bowling attack and Prasidh Krishna, in all likelihood, will be his new-ball partner. However, it shouldn’t be a surprise if the Indian team management considers Punjab pacer Gurnoor Brar.
India’s likely playing XI for Afghanistan Test: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (VC), Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
