As the season of Test cricket is upon us, India (IND) and Afghanistan (AFG) will engage in a challenging red-ball encounter for the Only Test of the tour at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh. The upcoming game will mark only the second time the two teams will be meeting in a Test match, starting Saturday, June 06.
India will be playing their first Test in 2026, which, though, will not be a part of the World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle. However, this game will give India the much-needed opportunity to get a taste of playing red-ball at home, given their recent record, where they faced whitewashes against New Zealand and South Africa in disappointing campaigns.
Afghanistan, on the other hand, find themselves, for the second time ever, facing the Indian team in five-day cricket. The first time the two teams went up against each other marked history, as it marked the first-ever Test match for them. While the Afghans were debutantes to Test cricket in 2018, they have an excellent opportunity to take revenge from eight years ago.
IND vs AFG: Match Details
| Match | India vs Afghanistan, Only Test, Afghanistan tour of India, 2026 |
| Date and Time (IST) | Friday, June 06-Tuesday, June 10, 9:30 AM (Daily) |
| Venue | Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, New Chandigarh |
| Broadcast and Live Streaming | JioStar Network Channels and JioHotstar (App and Website) |
Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, New Chandigarh: Pitch Report
This will be the first time a Test match will be played at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh, becoming the 31st venue to host the format on Indian soil. It is expected to be a sporty track on offer at the venue, making it suitable for fast bowlers for a large part of the first couple of days.
As the Test progresses into the middle stage, the surface is expected to get easier to bat on. And in case the game stretches to the last couple of days, a rarity in India of late, spinners will be seen dominating on the wicket here. Batting first can be a wise choice on such a wicket, as chasing a target in the fourth innings might become a challenging task.
IND vs AFG: Head-to-Head Test record
| Match Played | 01 |
| Won by IND | 01 |
| Won by AFG | 00 |
| Tied / Drawn | 00 |
| Only Fixture | June 14, 2018 (Won by IND) |
IND vs AFG: Predicted Playing XIs
India
KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan / Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (WK), Washington Sundar, Harsh Dubey / Manav Suthar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Gurnoor Brar, and Prasidh Krishna
Afghanistan
Abdul Malik, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Afsar Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Azmatullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Nangeyalia Kharote, Qais Ahmad, Ziaur Rahman
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