IND vs AFG 2026, IND vs AFG Only Test Match Preview

Big picture: A Test debut for New Chandigarh

Until last week, the New PCA Stadium was bathed in red, serving as one of Punjab Kings’ two home grounds for IPL 2026 and also hosting the Eliminator and Qualifier 2. But ahead of India’s one-off Test against Afghanistan – the venue’s first-ever – it shed all its colours. As if it had donned Test whites.

India, too, will be wearing whites after a long gap, having last played a Test in November (vs South Africa). The timing adds another layer of challenge: this match comes just six days after the IPL final. The only previous instance of such a short turnaround was in 2010, when India travelled to the West Indies for the T20 World Cup and opened their campaign, coincidentally, against Afghanistan.

This time, though, the switch from the white ball to the red ball is a significant challenge since eight of 15 squad members were involved in the IPL final. They must reset their body clocks and adjust their techniques. Even though this match is not part of the World Test Championship cycle, India head coach Gautam Gambhir said they would not take it lightly.

For Afghanistan, this is their 13th Test since their debut in the format in 2018, also against India. In that match in Bengaluru, they had lost inside two days by an innings. This time they do not have their talismanic legspinner Rashid Khan either, but captain Hashmatullah Shahidi is confident of a much better performance. This is also the first assignment for their new head coach Richard Pybus.

Meanwhile, New Chandigarh will become India’s 31st men’s Test venue. It’s a historic occasion, yet the atmosphere feels muted. Despite the five-day ticket starting from Rs. 250, only about 1700 were sold till Wednesday evening.

Form guide

India LLWWW (last five Tests, most recent first)
Afghanistan LWDLL

In the spotlight: Kuldeep Yadav and Rahmat Shah

In the absence of R Ashwin (retired), Ravindra Jadeja (rested) and Axar Patel (dropped), Kuldeep Yadav will be India’s lead spinner. With Washington Sundar and one of Harsh Dubey and Manav Suthar likely to be the other two spinners in the XI, Kuldeep may have to do the heavy lifting. He had a poor IPL – ten wickets in 12 games at an economy of 10.29 – but Delhi Capitals’ early exit gave him a few extra days to get “a feel of the red ball”.

Rahmat Shah remains Afghanistan’s most technically sound batter. He also has the most runs, most hundreds and most 50-plus scores for them in Test cricket. And, alongside Shahidi, he is also one of their two double-centurions in the format. Rahmat knows how to anchor the innings, and in the absence of opener Ibrahim Zadran, that responsibility will be even greater.

Team news

Gambhir has confirmed that B Sai Sudharsan will continue at No. 3 and Devdutt Padikkal will have to wait for his chance. One of the two left-arm spin-bowling allrounders, Harsh Dubey and Manav Suthar, will make his debut, but Nitish Kumar Reddy is unlikely to play as his seam bowling may not be very useful on this pitch.

India: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 KL Rahul, 3 B Sai Sudhrasan, 4 Shubman Gill (capt), 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Dhruv Jurel, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Harsh Dubey/Manav Suthar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Prasidh Krishna.

Afghanistan could also hand debuts to middle-order batter Rahmanullah and left-arm spin-bowling allrounder Nangeyalia Kharote.

Afghanistan: 1 Sediqullah Atal, 2 Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), 5 Azmatullah Omarzai, 6 Rahmanullah, 7 Afsar Zazai (wk), 8 Sharafuddin Ashraf, 9 Nangeyalia Kharote, 10 Qais Ahmad, 11 Ziaur Rahman

Stats and trivia: A home Test without Ashwin and Jadeja

The last time India played a home Test without Ashwin and Jadeja was in 2010, against New Zealand in Nagpur. That was before either of them had made their debut.
This will be Rishabh Pant’s 50th Test. Only MS Dhoni (90) and Syed Kirmani (88) have played more as wicketkeeper for India.
Shubman Gill needs 157 runs to reach 3000 in Test cricket.
Rahmat is 30 short of becoming the first Afghanistan batter to reach 1000 Test runs.
Left-arm spinner Sharafuddin Ashraf was the leading wicket-taker in the 2025 Ahmad Shah Abdali Trophy, with 36 wickets in six games at an average of 17.11.

Pitch and conditions

The match will be played on a black-soil pitch that is expected to be batter-friendly. June is the hottest month in India, so the conditions will be harsh, with afternoon temperatures potentially touching 40°C.

Quotes

“A Test match is a Test match. I know people talk about this not being part of the World Test Championship cycle but for me, it is a Test match and we need to go out there and win for the country because you don’t differentiate between Test matches, whether they are part of the World Test Championship or not. That is one of the reasons why we are going to try to play our full-strength side even in this Test.”
India head coach Gautam Gambhir

“This is a new stadium, it is a new wicket. I think the Indian coaching staff and leadership will be as interested to see how the wicket plays as we are. It looks like a good cricket wicket but I have no doubt the heat is going to pull moisture out very quickly. It has got a good covering of grass but will it continue to hold it together? So spinners will play a major part in the game even though it looks pretty green at the moment.”
Afghanistan head coach Richard Pybus

Hemant Brar is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

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