India will face off with Afghanistan in their inaugural Test match at Bengaluru from June 14, 2018.

The Test match is a much-awaited affair as it brings a fairytale ending to the struggles of Afghanistan players, as they have beaten war and atrocities to get the honor of becoming Test cricket players, and chose India as their first ever opponents.

India, on the other hand, will enter the arena missing their leader Virat Kohli, who is nursing a neck injury sustained during the recently concluded IPL. Ajinkya Rahane will lead the team in his stead and having performed the duty previously against Australia, will be confident of doing better against the debutants.

The Test match will also kick-start India’s preparations for the upcoming England tour and gives an opportunity to Indian selectors and team management a chance to try out the best possible combination.

Team Circle of Cricket brings to you the COC Predicted Indian playing XI for the Afghanistan Test.

India is spoilt for choices for the opening role with Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay and KL Rahul vying for the top two spots. Earlier, the problem of choosing the best was solved by either of them injured or unavailability; but this time; all three of them are fit and available.

Shikhar Dhawan missed two of the three Tests against South Africa earlier this year but had a very good IPL 2018 for SRH. He also provides the variety of the left hand-right hand combination at the top of the innings.

M Vijay is coming into the Test match with very little match practice under his belt. He missed many matches due to his wrist injury and played just one match in IPL 2018 for CSK.

KL Rahul got to play four innings against South Africa in the Tests and scored just 30 runs with a best of 16. But he too had a stupendous IPL 2018 for KXIP and will make a case on current form.

With Virat Kohli missing from the playing XI, all three batsmen might get to play, with Dhawan and Vijay opening and KL Rahul batting at no.4. This might prolong Karun Nair's wait for a return to Test fold after converting his maiden Test century into a triple hundred against England in Chennai, 2016.

Cheteshwar Pujara might hold onto his no.3 spot despite 100 runs in 3 Tests against South Africa and less than satisfactory returns during the English County season. Ajinkya Rahane might play at no.5 and will also lead the Indian team in the Test match.

Dinesh Karthik is bound to make his return to the Indian Test side after 8 years and keep wickets, along with batting at no.6. He will have a very good opportunity of making a strong case for the tour to England along with an injury prone Wriddhiman Saha. His rich vein of form for India in limited overs format and for KKR in IPL 2018, will help him come good in Test cricket as well.

Team management might want to go in with just two spinners in Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin, despite whatever the pitch report suggests. Both Jadeja and Ashwin have Kuldeep Yadav breathing down their necks and any slip up on their part may lead to Kuldeep nudging his way into the Indian team.

Team management might also tilt towards bringing in Hardik Pandya as the all-rounder instead of playing three genuine fast bowlers. He had a good IPL 2018 with the ball and despite his shortcomings with the bat on the South African tour; his attacking instincts against the spinners might give India the edge against the wily and smart Afghanistan spinners.

With only two spots remaining for the fast bowlers, it will be the choice between the experienced duo of Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma; and the novices Navdeep Saini and Shardul Thakur.

Umesh Yadav has powered his way through into the Test contention with a spirited bowling performance for RCB in the IPL 2018 and even for Vidarbha in domestic cricket. He bowls fast and has the stamina for bowling sustained spells against the Afghan batting and blasting his way through their lineup.

Ishant Sharma, on the other hand, has made good of his opportunity in English county cricket and with a good performance against South Africa in Tests, has made a claim for one of the quick bowler’s spots for the Afghanistan Test match.

Though the team management might get enticed to give either Navdeep or Shardul a chance against debutants Afghanistan; better sense must prevail and go with experience in order to nullify any chances of an upset happening.

With an important series against England coming up, Indian players will be itching to get a taste of Test cricket against Afghanistan, who will be hell-bent on performing a miracle in their first ever Test.

COC Predicted XI for Team India:
Shikhar Dhawan, M Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, KL Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane (C), Dinesh Karthik (WK), Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma