In what has come as a stunning development, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to leave no stone unturned when it comes to Test cricket. After lifting the ODI Champions Trophy crown and back-to-back T20 World Cup titles, India are ready to be less casual in red-ball cricket as the selectors eye fielding a full-strength team in India’s next Test, which will be against Afghanistan in June.
In a historic moment, Afghanistan tour India for a one-off Test and three ODIs. That one-off Test, set to be the maiden Test in New Chandigarh, will start on June 6. India, under the leadership of Shubman Gill, will field a first-choice team as per PTI. This is unusual since the match won’t be part of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle.
India to risk Bumrah & Co for non-WTC match?
As per report, there won’t be backup players who will get gametime in the Test against the Afghans. Instead, a full-strength team will take the field, including the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. It is an interesting call by the BCCI since all the Indian pacers will be coming straight from a tiresome IPL 2026. However, the board believes the Indian senior team won’t be experimenting and the players who are in regular red-ball squad will play.
“The India Test cap isn’t for experimentation. For that, you have India A shadow tours. As of now, in Tests, Bumrah, Siraj and Prasidh are top three bowlers on the selectors’ radar,” a BCCI source said to PTI.
Indian Cricket Schedule
March – May 2026
Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026
June 2026
Afghanistan tour of India schedule
| Day | Date | Time (IST) | Match | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday | 06 June-26 | 9:30 AM | Test | New Chandigarh |
| Sunday | 14 June-26 | 1:30 PM | 1st ODI | Dharamshala |
| Wednesday | 17 June-26 | 1:30 PM | 2nd ODI | Lucknow |
| Saturday | 20 June-26 | 1:30 PM | 3rd ODI | Chennai |
Can India really play WTC Final?
However, under Gambhir, India have been ordinary in Test cricket. He has only beat the likes of Bangladesh and the West Indies at home. To be fair on him, India are in a transitional period in red-ball cricket after three huge retirements of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin. However, as an Indian head coach, you’ll receive flak for every loss.
Gautam Gambhir’s coaching record in Tests
Gambhir’s record as a Test coach has been underwhelming, with India suffering a clean sweep in their home series against New Zealand. Lost 3 matches in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Luckily, the series against England ended 2-2 and then India beat the West Indies at home. But then another embarrassment came when they lost 0-2 vs South Africa at home.
| Matches | Won | Lost | Draw | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 36.84 |
In this cycle, India have played nine games and have managed to win just four of them. Currently stranded at sixth place, India have far worse chances to qualify for the WTC 2027 final than ever. Due to a drawn series against England and a home series loss to South Africa, India have points percentage of 48.15. Unfortunately, India have played the second-most games already.
Still, there are chances, with India slated to play nine more Tests. This year, they will play a two-game away series in Sri Lanka followed by a tricky tour of New Zealand later this year. The last series of this WTC cycle for India would be a much-awaited BGT home series against Australia in January-February 2027.
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