After the disco light that was the IPL, we are in the place of sunlight. Test cricket is about to become the talk of the town once again as players make themselves accustomed to the morning routine once again after two months of night action. While this isn’t part of the World Test Championship (WTC), India host Afghanistan in an interesting one-off Test affair.
Under Gautam Gambhir, India have their own demons to fight. After series losses at home to New Zealand and South Africa, the Men in Blue have a point to prove. Not that they can’t beat Afghanistan but can they really play dominating cricket at home? Shubman Gill had suggestions for BCCI after an embarrassing series loss to Proteas earlier this year. Now, it remains to be seen how well the players do with red cherry in play.
With the management resting some bowlers after a hectic T20 tournament, a fresh team will take the field in New Chandigarh, starting tomorrow. Regardless, there are selection headaches for Gambhir and Gill. We discuss the same below.
Familiar batting unit; Sudharsan vs Padikkal for No. 3
The only thing that is certain in India’s current Test team is the opening pair. You aren’t hampering that. KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal both have gelled superbly well together. They had to open for the first time during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) in Australia, where they were fabulous. Then again, in England, they put up a great show of application.
At an individual level, Rahul is now the new Indian vice-captain, replacing Rishabh Pant. He had a solid IPL as well, and will love to gather runs. Jaiswal, meanwhile, hasn’t dominated Test cricket recently like what we saw against England in 2024. But that can change anytime soon.
The biggest battle and the question mark in the side is for the number three spot. India have tried three different options in the last year. That goes to seven options in the last 24 months. Clearly, India are still as clear for the spot as we are. In this series, the spot could go to either Sai Sudharsan or Devdutt Padikkal.
India have given six matches at that number to Sudharsan, who hasn’t done great. While he has two fifties, he still averages 27.4. His sub-40 average in FC cricket doesn’t help either. No doubt, Sudharsan has been one of the best run accumulators in the IPL. However, he has left a lot to be desired in the short Test span he has had.
Most Test runs for India since Rohit and Kohli’s retirements
| Player | Matches | Innings | Runs | HS | Average | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shubman Gill | 8 | 14 | 950 | 269 | 79.16 | 5 | 1 |
| KL Rahul | 9 | 17 | 796 | 137 | 49.75 | 3 | 3 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 9 | 15 | 725 | 107* | 72.50 | 2 | 6 |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | 9 | 17 | 713 | 175 | 41.94 | 3 | 3 |
| Rishabh Pant | 6 | 11 | 528 | 134 | 48.00 | 2 | 3 |
| Washington Sundar | 8 | 13 | 417 | 101* | 41.70 | 1 | 1 |
| Sai Sudharsan | 6 | 11 | 302 | 87 | 27.45 | 0 | 2 |
| Dhruv Jurel | 5 | 9 | 257 | 125 | 32.12 | 1 | 0 |
That brings Devdutt Padikkal to the equation. The IPL 2026 winner with RCB had his best-ever campaign recently. In the domestic season for Karnataka, he was impeccable. For RCB, he had a marvellous campaign as well.
In the recent Ranji Trophy, Padikkal made 543 runs at 54.30, including a double century in the semi-final. However, it was at the Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he was otherworldly, scoring 725 runs at 90.63 across just nine innings. For RCB, Padikkal revamped his game so much that he was perhaps the most improved cricketer this year, hammering 464 runs at a strike rate close to 170.
Clearly, Padikkal has been in a better form than Sudharsan, who didn’t do anything to stake his claim at the number three spot as well. However, Gautam Gambhir has confirmed that Sudharsan will play against Afghanistan and not Padikkal. “Honestly, Sai hasn’t got a fair chance,” Gambhir said in pre-match press conference.
“He’s (Sai) only played, what, a handful of Test matches. And he started his Test career in England, which we all know is not the easiest place. And he’s had a phenomenal run in the IPL as well, and we’ve got to give him a fair chance. I still believe that he hasn’t got a fair chance.”
Nitish Reddy vs Dhruv Jurel
Now, at four and five, we obviously have the two engine houses of the batting group – Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant. Gill’s form in the format has been fabulous as a leader. Meanwhile, Pant will always remain an X-factor. After a horrible IPL 2026 and getting relieved of vice-captaincy duties, Pant will be gunning to make a mark once again.
However, the numer six spot will be up for a debate as well. India can either go with a specialist batter in Dhruv Jurel or can slot in pace-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy. While Gambhir loves having as many bowling options in his XI, Jurel presents a solid case with his watertight technique and a 515-run season with Rajasthan Royals (RR).
India did play Jurel alongside Pant previously. Although it didn’t yield returns, we all know that having a batter at six will strengthen the group further.
Meanwhile, as for Reddy, he showed great improvement as an all-rounder as well. Working with a bowling coach behind the scenes, Reddy’s pace has been quicker, as we saw at IPL 2026. His batting is better when he attacks more. After the whirlwind Melbroune knock, NKR hasn’t done anything in the format. When he plays, he doesn’t get to bowl. When he doesn’t play, India can’t groom him.
Harsh Dubey starts, so will Kuldeep Yadav
Now, we enter the bowling group. Obviously, it starts with two all-rounders. With Ravindra Jadeja getting a rest from this series, India have shown interest in Harsh Dubey and Manav Suthar. Both are left-arm traditional spinners, who are being looked as long-term options.
Ryan ten Doeschate hinted that two all-rounders will play. Considering Washington Sundar is an obvious choice, we think that Dubey would pip Suthar. It is simply because Dubey deserves it after toiling hard in the domestic circuit for a couple of years now. He has been mentored by Ravichandran Ashwin.
He set a new Ranji Trophy record with 69 wickets during Vidarbha’s 2024-25 championship campaign, the most by any bowler in a single season. Last season, he showed his leadership mind as well, taking Vidarbha to their maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy win as well.
Most Test wickets for India in the last year
| Player | Innings | Wickets | Best Innings | Average | Economy | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mohammed Siraj | 17 | 39 | 6/70 | 26.92 | 3.70 | 43.6 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | 13 | 29 | 5/27 | 22.55 | 2.80 | 48.3 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 17 | 25 | 4/50 | 37.72 | 3.20 | 70.7 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | 8 | 20 | 5/82 | 23.15 | 3.47 | 40.0 |
| Prasidh Krishna | 6 | 14 | 4/62 | 37.07 | 4.94 | 45.0 |
| Akash Deep | 6 | 13 | 6/99 | 36.46 | 4.34 | 50.3 |
| Washington Sundar | 13 | 11 | 4/22 | 49.63 | 3.22 | 92.2 |
Sundar’s case is a no-brainer too. He has done exceedingly well with the bat. In one of the games, Gambhir made him bat at number three as well. This time, he would return to the number seven spot but will continue being the third spinner in the team. Gill would need to make sure Sundar bowls more this time around.
The primary spinner will be Kuldeep Yadav. His selection should excite fans, as the left-arm wrist spinner hasn’t always played under Gill. He should’ve gotten some game time in England. But that wasn’t the case. In eight innings last year, he has picked up 20 wickets at an excellent average of 23.15. In India, he could be as lethal as anyone.
The pace bowling duo that we have gone ahead with is Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna. While Siraj’s workload should be managed carefully, if he wants, India should definitely make him play. After all, he bowls his heart out every time Siraj has the ball in hand. No other player has taken more Test wickets than him for the country in the last year. He can make the new ball talk when it hard and fresh.
Similarly, Prasidh Krishna has been selected as the second-choice pacer, with Jasprit Bumrah resting and both Akash Deep and Harshit Rana injured. Krishna has an eerie wicket-taking ability, as his height gives him a huge advantage. While there’s Gurnoor Brar on the bench, Krishna should start on the basis of seniority and selection. The Karnataka pacer has worked hard with bowling coach Morne Morkel behind the scenes.
Predicted India Playing XI vs Afghanistan
- KL Rahul (vc)
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- Sai Sudharsan
- Shubman Gill (C)
- Rishabh Pant (wk)
- Dhruv Jurel/Nitish Kumar Reddy
- Washington Sundar
- Harsh Dubey
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Mohammed Siraj
- Prasidh Krishna
- On Bench: Gurnoor Brar, Dhruv Jurel/Nitish Kumar Reddy, Manav Suthar, Devdutt Padikkal
