India vs Afghanistan Test: Well Prepared For Contest Against India, Says Afghan Skipper Asghar Stanikzai

Riding high on confidence after thumping Bangladesh 3-0 in the just-concluded T20 series in Dehradun, Afghanistan skipper Asghar Stanikzai on Thursday asserted that his side is well prepared for the one-off Test against India scheduled to take place at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Post the thrilling one-run victory against Bangladesh in the final T20, Stanikzai told reporters that the team has been prepping hard for their maiden Test and win against the Tigers had helped them with the momentum.

"Great preparation for the Test match against India -- the morale is high. Last couple of years we have performed well. We want to achieve it for Afghanistan. You see the batsmen, bowlers are all in good form," Stanikzai said.

Afghanistan will play their first ever Test against top-ranked India from June 14. In the absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane will lead the Indian team in the historic Test.

For the visitors 19-year-old Rashid Khan, the chief architect of Afghanistan's whitewash of Bangladesh, will be the frontman who will be looking forward to the big occasion alongside off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman. For India, Kuldeep Yadav if given an opportunity will look forward to make a mark along with veteran Ravichandran Ashwin on the Bengaluru track.

Squads:

India: Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, M Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Karun Nair, Dinesh Karthik (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Mohd. Shami, Hardik Pandya, Ishant Sharma, Shardul Thakur.

Afghanistan: Ashgar Stanikzai (capt), Mohammed Shahzad, Javed Ahmadi, Rahmat Shah, Ihsanullah Janat, Nasir Jamal, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Afsar Zazai, Mohammed Nabi, Rashid Khan, Zahir Khan, Amir Hamza Hotak, Sayed Ahmad Shirzad, Yamin Ahmadzai Wafadar, Mujeeb ur Rahman.

(With IANS Inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Afghanistan Rashid Khan Ajinkya Rahane Virat Kohli Mujeeb Ur Rahman M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru Asghar Stanikzai Cricket