India Predicted XI For Afghanistan Test: Debut Expected; Rishabh Pant To Make The Cut?

India Predicted XI For Afghanistan Test: India look to gear up for a crucial World Test Championship (WTC) stretch as the Shubman Gill-led side take on Afghanistan in an one-off Test match in Mullanpur on Saturday. While the match will not be a part of the WTC cycle, it provides the perfect chance for India to test out their team combination. The match will be India's first Test match since their series against South Africa in November. It will also be a tough test for the players as eight cricketers in the squad took part in the IPL 2026 final on Sunday. The hosts will be without Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah while a debut is expected on Saturday.

KL Rahul is expected to open the batting with Yashasvi Jaiswal while Sai Sudharsan will be batting at No. 3. Gambhir threw his support behind Sudharsan and clearly hinted that he will be preferred over Devdutt Padikkal.

"Sai Sudharsan has not got a fair chance. He played mostly in England and I believe he needs to get a fair chance," he said.

Skipper Shubman Gill, who had a brilliant outing with Gujarat Titans in the recently-concluded IPL 2026, will be batting at No. 4 while Rishabh Pant is expected to be the wicket-keeper. There has been a lot of chatter over Pant after he was removed as the vice-captain but it is highly unlikely that Dhruv Jurel will be preferred over him.

In all-rounders, Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy are expected to play a major role for the team.

Coming to the bowling department, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna will be the fast bowlers while Kuldeep Yadav is expected to play as the specialist spinner. Either Harsh Dubey or Manav Suthar is expected to make their debut. 

India Predicted XI for one-off Test against Afghanistan: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey / Manav Suthar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

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Topics mentioned in this article

Rishabh Pant Shubman Gill India Cricket Team Afghanistan IPL 2026 Cricket