Shubman Gill wins toss, India opts to bat in One-off Test against Afghanistan
New Chandigarh, June 6
Indian skipper Shubman Gill has won the toss and opted to bat first against Afghanistan in the One-off Test on Saturday in New Chandigarh at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium.
The contest comes less than a week after the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 final. The two sides played their first and only Test in 2018, which India won by an innings and 262 runs within two days.
"We are gonna bat first. Very hot and humid. It's going to get slower and lower. Very special, I grew up playing here. It's a great privilege to captain here. The preparation has been good. Got a good couple of days of sleep. Nine Test matches after this, we've got quite a few home Test matches. It's about getting the combination right. We've got Manav Suthar making his debut," Gill said during the toss.
"We wanted to bat as well, as the wicket looks good. We need to play good cricket. We are ready for the challenge. We like challenges. We are well prepared for this game. We had a good preparation camp in Kabul. We have three seamers and two spinning combinations. We have one debutant - Nangeyalia Kharote," Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi said.
Teams:
India (Playing XI): KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Manav Suthar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
Afghanistan (Playing XI): Sediqullah Atal, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Abdul Malik, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Afsar Zazai(w), Azmatullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Nangeyalia Kharote, Ziaur Rahman Sharifi, Mohammad Saleem Safi.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Good decision to bat first, but I'm concerned about the bowling. Why is Manav Suthar debuting? And no Bumrah or Shami? Afghanistan bowlers like Mohammad Saleem can trouble us on this kind of wicket. Hope we don't take them lightly. 🇮🇳
Awesome to see Yashasvi Jaiswal opening again! This kid has so much promise. And Rishabh Pant returning to Test cricket after that accident... goosebumps. Let's go India! ✊
I get that we want to test bench strength, but playing Washington Sundar as a spinner when we have Jadeja and Ashwin available feels wasteful. Anyway, hope Manav Suthar has a dream debut! We need to win this for the fans.
Tough call from Afghanistan to play three seamers. I think they've improved a lot since 2018, but India's batting is monstrous. KL Rahul needs a big score to silence his critics. Predicting a 300+ total for India. 🏏
So nostalgic! Growing up in Chandigarh, I've seen many matches at this stadium. Gill mentioning it's special to captain here touched my heart. And Dhruv Jurel getting a chance is amazing - this team looks solid. All the best, Team India! 🌟
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.