The only test match is to be played between India and Afghanistan in New Chandigarh from June 6, for which Indian players have started preparing. Captain Shubman Gill led the first training session to prepare for the match on Wednesday.
Most of the players have recently returned from their IPL responsibilities. Indian players took part in the net session at the PCA Stadium Complex in Mullanpur. During this time, head coach Gautam Gambhir kept a close watch on the players. Newly appointed vice-captain KL Rahul spent a lot of time batting in the nets along with opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant.
Shubman Gill, who led Gujarat Titans to the final of IPL 2026, joined the national team after the tournament. He was actively involved during this session with fielding coach T. Dilip.
During this period, India’s fast bowling attack seemed to be working very hard. Fast bowlers Mohammad Siraj and Prasidh Krishna bowled long spells. However, Siraj’s chances of playing in the Test match are uncertain as he may face workload-management issues after taking part in every match of Gujarat Titans’ IPL campaign.
If Siraj is rested, Jammu and Kashmir’s uncapped fast bowler Auqib Nabi is most likely to be called up to the squad, having had an excellent domestic season with 60 wickets in the Ranji Trophy. Nabi is currently included in the group of net bowlers who are helping the Indian team; Gurjapneet Singh, Prince Yadav, Saransh Jain, Zeeshan Ansari and Shivang Kumar are also included in this group. Another important player in this camp is fast bowler Mayank Yadav, who has joined the team as a net bowler.
Indian team for the one-off Test match against Afghanistan: Shubman Gill (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (vice-captain), Sai Sudarshan, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper).