India make red-ball switch for Afghanistan challenge in New Chandigarh’s maiden Test Match

A Historic Test Debut for New Chandigarh

Until last week, the New PCA Stadium was bathed in red, serving as one of Punjab Kings’ two home grounds for IPL 2026 and hosting high-stakes matches like the Eliminator and Qualifier 2. But ahead of India’s one-off Test against Afghanistan—the venue’s first-ever—it has shed all its franchise colors, donning the classic whites of Test cricket. New Chandigarh is set to become India’s 31st men’s Test venue, marking a historic milestone for the region’s cricket infrastructure.

Despite the historic nature of the occasion, the build-up has felt somewhat muted. Even with five-day tickets priced starting from a modest Rs. 250, only about 1,700 tickets had been sold by Wednesday evening. Nonetheless, the clash promises high tactical intrigue as both sides adjust to the demands of the longest format under challenging summer conditions.

The Challenge of the Multi-Format Switch

India’s players face the daunting task of adjusting from the frantic pace of T20s to the patient discipline of Test cricket in a mere six days. The team last played a Test match in November against South Africa, making this a long-awaited return to red-ball cricket. The turnaround is exceptionally tight: eight of the 15 squad members were actively involved in the IPL final just under a week ago. They must rapidly reset their body clocks, recalibrate their mindsets, and adjust their techniques to the moving red ball.

Historically, such a swift transition is rare. The only comparable instance occurred in 2010 when Indian players traveled to the West Indies for the T20 World Cup, opening their campaign against Afghanistan immediately after a domestic transition. While this match does not count toward the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, India head coach Gautam Gambhir has emphasized that the team will not treat the fixture lightly.

Form Guide and Team Aspirations

India: LLWWW (last five Tests, most recent first)
Afghanistan: LWDLL

For Afghanistan, this match represents their 13th Test match since obtaining Test status in 2018. Coincidentally, their inaugural Test was also played against India in Bengaluru, a match they lost within two days by an innings. This time around, they will be without their talismanic legspinner Rashid Khan, but captain Hashmatullah Shahidi remains confident of presenting a far more competitive performance. This fixture also marks the first official assignment for Afghanistan’s newly appointed head coach, Richard Pybus.

In the Spotlight: Kuldeep Yadav and Rahmat Shah

In the absence of a veteran spin core—with Ravichandran Ashwin retired, Ravindra Jadeja rested, and Axar Patel dropped—Kuldeep Yadav steps up as India’s premier spinner. Backed by Washington Sundar and either Harsh Dubey or Manav Suthar, Kuldeep will be expected to shoulder the bulk of the bowling workload. Although he experienced a tough IPL campaign, taking 10 wickets in 12 games at an economy rate of 10.29, Delhi Capitals’ early exit allowed him valuable extra days to train with and get a feel for the red ball.

For the visitors, Rahmat Shah remains the technical anchor of the batting order. He holds the records for the most runs, most centuries, and most fifty-plus scores for Afghanistan in Test history. Alongside skipper Shahidi, Rahmat is also one of only two double-centurions for his country. In the absence of regular opener Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat’s ability to occupy the crease and stabilize the innings will be critical to Afghanistan’s hopes of posting a competitive total.

Team News and Predicted Lineups

India head coach Gautam Gambhir has confirmed that young prospect B Sai Sudharsan will continue to bat at No. 3, meaning Devdutt Padikkal will have to wait for his opportunity. The team is set to hand a debut to one of the two left-arm spin-allrounders in the squad, Harsh Dubey or Manav Suthar. Allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy is unlikely to feature, as the coaching staff feels his medium-pace bowling may not offer enough utility on this particular surface.

Predicted India XI: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 KL Rahul, 3 B Sai Sudhrasan, 4 Shubman Gill (capt), 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Dhruv Jurel, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Harsh Dubey/Manav Suthar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Prasidh Krishna.

Afghanistan may also hand out new caps, with middle-order batter Rahmanullah and left-arm spin-allrounder Nangeyalia Kharote both in contention for selection.

Predicted Afghanistan XI: 1 Sediqullah Atal, 2 Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), 5 Azmatullah Omarzai, 6 Rahmanullah, 7 Afsar Zazai (wk), 8 Sharafuddin Ashraf, 9 Nangeyalia Kharote, 10 Qais Ahmad, 11 Ziaur Rahman.

Pitch and Weather Conditions

The match will be played on a black-soil pitch that is expected to favor batters early on. However, June is historically the hottest month of the year in northern India. With afternoon temperatures expected to hover around 40°C, the physical toll on the players will be immense. The intense heat is projected to bake the surface quickly, drying out any live grass and ensuring that spinners play a major role as the match progresses.

Key Stats and Trivia

• The last time India played a home Test without both Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja was in 2010 against New Zealand in Nagpur—a match played before either spinner had made his Test debut.
• This match will mark Rishabh Pant’s 50th Test appearance. Only MS Dhoni (90) and Syed Kirmani (88) have kept wicket in more Tests for India.
• Shubman Gill requires 157 runs to reach the milestone of 3,000 runs in Test cricket.
• Rahmat Shah is just 30 runs away from becoming the first batsman from Afghanistan to score 1,000 runs in Test matches.
• Left-arm spinner Sharafuddin Ashraf enters the series in excellent red-ball form, having finished as the leading wicket-taker in the 2025 Ahmad Shah Abdali Trophy with 36 wickets in six matches at an average of 17.11.

Tactical Quotes from the Camps

“A Test match is a Test match. I know people talk about this not being part of the World Test Championship cycle but for me, it is a Test match and we need to go out there and win for the country because you don’t differentiate between Test matches, whether they are part of the World Test Championship or not. That is one of the reasons why we are going to try to play our full-strength side even in this Test.”
— Gautam Gambhir, India Head Coach

“This is a new stadium, it is a new wicket. I think the Indian coaching staff and leadership will be as interested to see how the wicket plays as we are. It looks like a good cricket wicket but I have no doubt the heat is going to pull moisture out very quickly. It has got a good covering of grass but will it continue to hold it together? So spinners will play a major part in the game even though it looks pretty green at the moment.”
— Richard Pybus, Afghanistan Head Coach