IND vs AFG one-off test: Check predicted Playing 11 and other details

India will look to address several questions surrounding their Test combination when they face Afghanistan in a one-off Test in New Chandigarh starting Saturday. While Afghanistan enter the contest as clear underdogs, the hosts will be eager to avoid a repeat of the mistakes that contributed to their 0-2 home Test series defeat against South Africa last year.

The two sides last met in a Test match in 2018 in Bengaluru, when Afghanistan were playing their maiden Test. India dominated the contest, bowling out Afghanistan twice inside two days. Ten wickets fell between lunch and tea on the second day, while the remaining ten tumbled between tea and stumps as India sealed a comprehensive victory.

This time, Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi will hope for a much stronger showing from his side against an Indian team still searching for its ideal Test combination.


The disparity in experience between the two teams remains stark. Since their historic debut Test against India in 2018, Afghanistan have played only 12 Tests in total, including that match. India, meanwhile, have featured in 67 Test matches during the same period.

India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant alone has played 49 Tests since then. In fact, Pant had not yet made his Test debut when Afghanistan and India last faced each other in the format.

Of the Indian players who featured in the 2018 Bengaluru Test, only KL Rahul remains in the current squad. For Afghanistan, only Shahidi and Rahmat Shah have survived from that side.

The contrast is also visible in batting records. Afghanistan's current batting unit has scored a combined nine Test centuries, while the present Indian squad boasts 39 Test hundreds.

Afghanistan held a preparatory camp in Jalalabad ahead of the match, but translating that preparation into performance against a far more experienced Indian side will be their toughest challenge.

India (Likely XI)	Afghanistan (Likely XI)
Yashasvi Jaiswal	Hashmatullah Shahidi (c)
KL Rahul (vc)	Afsar Zazai (wk)
Sai Sudharsan	Abdul Malik
Shubman Gill (c)	Rahmanullah Gurbaz
Rishabh Pant (wk)	Rahmat Shah
Washington Sundar	Azmatullah Omarzai
Nitish Kumar Reddy	Sharafuddin Ashraf
Harsh Dubey / Manav Suthar	Ziaur Rahman Sharifi
Kuldeep Yadav	Qais Ahmad
Mohammed Siraj	Bilal Sami
Prasidh Krishna	Mohammad Saleem Safi