Afghanistan Tour of India 2026: BCCI announces Test squad as three rising stars earn maiden call-up

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has announced India’s Test squad for the upcoming Afghanistan Tour of India 2026 as the team prepares to play a one-off Test and three ODIs in June, the series will take place between June 5 to June 20, 2026. Three young Indian stars have earned their maiden call-up to don the whites for India, while there was also a major leadership change as Rishabh Pant lost the Test vice-captaincy role to KL Rahul.

The selectors retained Shubman Gill as the captain of the Test side while rewarding several domestic performers for their impressive outings across formats.

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India announce Test squad for Afghanistan series

India’s Test squad for the Afghanistan one-off Test features a balanced combination of experienced stars and emerging talents.

India Test squad: Shubman Gill (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (VC) Sai Sudharsan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey, Dhruv Jurel (WK).

Among the biggest talking points was the maiden Test selection for 23-year-old Manav Suthar, 25-year-old Gurnoor Brar and 23-year-old Harsh Dubey.

Who are India’s three new Test call-ups?

Manav Suthar is a bowling all-rounder who bats left-handed and bowls slow left-arm orthodox. The Rajasthan cricketer has also been part of Gujarat Titans in the IPL and has impressed consistently in domestic cricket.

Another Gujarat Titans player, Gurnoor Brar, is a right-arm fast bowler who represents Punjab in domestic cricket. The pacer has earned recognition for his ability to generate bounce and movement with the new ball.

Meanwhile, Harsh Dubey is a bowling all-rounder who bowls slow left-arm orthodox and bats left-handed. The Vidarbha cricketer currently represents Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL and has emerged as one of the most promising young spin-bowling all-rounders in the country.