IND vs AFG Test: Shubman Gill wins toss, opts to bat in New Chandigarh

Indian skipper Shubman Gill won the toss and opted to bat first against Afghanistan in the one-off Test in New Chandigarh. The match comes just after the IPL 2026 final. Spinner Manav Suthar makes his debut for India in the match.

Indian skipper Shubman Gill has won the toss and opted to bat first against Afghanistan in the One-off Test on Saturday in New Chandigarh at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium.

The contest comes less than a week after the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 final.

The two sides played their first and only Test in 2018, which India won by an innings and 262 runs within two days.

What the Captains Said

"We are gonna bat first. Very hot and humid. It's going to get slower and lower. Very special, I grew up playing here. It's a great privilege to captain here. The preparation has been good. Got a good couple of days of sleep. Nine Test matches after this, we've got quite a few home Test matches. It's about getting the combination right. We've got Manav Suthar making his debut," Gill said during the toss.

"We wanted to bat as well, as the wicket looks good. We need to play good cricket. We are ready for the challenge. We like challenges. We are well prepared for this game. We had a good preparation camp in Kabul. We have three seamers and two spinning combinations. We have one debutant - Nangeyalia Kharote," Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi said.

Playing XIs

Teams: India (Playing XI): KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Manav Suthar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.

Afghanistan (Playing XI): Sediqullah Atal, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Abdul Malik, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Afsar Zazai(w), Azmatullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Nangeyalia Kharote, Ziaur Rahman Sharifi, Mohammad Saleem Safi.

(ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)