India Announce Test Squad For Afghanistan Match With Three New Faces

India has included left-arm spinner Manav Suthar, all-rounder Harsh Dubey and pacer Gurnoor Brar in the national Test squad for the first time ahead of the one-off match against Afghanistan. The fixture will take place in New Chandigarh from June 6 to 10.

Chief selector Ajit Agarkar, along with BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia, confirmed the 15-player squad on Tuesday.

Shubman Gill has taken charge as captain, while KL Rahul has been named vice-captain, replacing Rishabh Pant in that role.

The batting unit features Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel alongside experienced players.

With Ravindra Jadeja unavailable for this match, Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar will handle the spin responsibilities.

“Ravindra Jadeja is an integral part of the team. He’s rested for the Test match, and we are trying to give opportunities to other players. It’s for this Test that we have not picked him,” said chief selector Ajit Agarkar during a virtual media interaction.

Mohammed Siraj will lead India’s pace attack in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah. Prasidh Krishna and Brar will support him in the bowling department.

The selection of Suthar and Dubey signals the selectors’ intention to broaden India’s spin options in the longer format. All three newcomers have delivered consistent performances in domestic cricket while representing India ‘A’.

India returned to Test cricket after their previous series. They suffered a 2-0 defeat against South Africa at home last year.

This fixture does not count towards the World Test Championship. It holds importance ahead of forthcoming tours to Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

India has, however, faced Afghanistan only once in Test cricket, in a match held at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru in 2018.

India secured a dominant win by an innings and 262 runs, also finishing the match within two days.

Shubman Gill (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (vc), Rishabh Pant (wk), Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Manav Suthar, Harsh Dubey, Gurnoor Brar.

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