“We want him to become the best Test player that he has always been,” chief selector Ajit Agarkar said of Pant’s removal as Test vice-captain and exclusion from the ODI squad. “I don’t think there is any concern with his spot in the Test team. I think he is one of our main batters in that line-up. [He] had a really good tour of England till he got injured. So, I am sure he would like a few more runs. But he has always been very good in Test cricket. At this point, yes, we have gone with two different [wicketkeeping] options in one-day cricket. But Test cricket, he remains one of our main players.
“That’s the best option we think at this point that we have as far as vice-captain with experience,” Agarkar said of Rahul. “We saw during the South African series as well when Shubman got injured. And KL provides us with the necessary experience that you need in case the situation arises. Plus, he has obviously had a really good tour of England and against the West Indies.”
Rohit and Pandya were picked in the ODI squad subject to fitness clearance. The Mumbai Indians duo have been carrying injuries in IPL 2026: Rohit missed five matches because of a hamstring issue whereas Pandya sat out of four matches with back spasms. Agarkar said he had been told by the Indian team’s physios that both players were “on track” for the ODI series that starts on June 14. He expected Bumrah to be back for the England ODIs in July.
Brar, 25, has played only 18 first-class games and nine List A matches, but has already represented India A. He took 11 wickets in eight games during Punjab’s run to the semi-finals in last season’s Vijay Hazare Trophy. He was also the joint highest wicket-taker with eight scalps in India A’s two four-day matches against Australia A in Lucknow in September 2025.
“With Gurnoor, we have seen a lot of promise over the last season-and-a-half now,” Agarkar said. “Tall guy with a bit of pace. Again, keeping the South African World Cup in mind, we are obviously going to try a few guys who at that point might be useful if they keep developing. Prince Yadav has shown a lot of promise through the domestic season. I think he had a really good Vijay Hazare. Obviously, bowled well in the IPL. But we have seen that he has grown a lot as a bowler over the last year or so. And again, has the necessary skills to succeed with the white ball.”
Suthar, 23, brings some more experience, having played 29 first-class games for 129 wickets at an average of 25.76, and has been a regular in India A sides across formats. In four-day games, he played against South Africa A in Bengaluru in October-November 2025. He also played for Rest of India against Vidarbha in the Irani Cup before that, where he took five wickets in the match and scored an unbeaten 56 at No. 8 in the second innings.
Dubey, at just 23, recently led Vidarbha to their maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy title, where he also picked up 10 wickets in as many games with an economy rate of 4.79. He scored 83 runs off 65 balls in the tournament and his batting ability lower down the order – with an average of 37.87 in 50-over games – also played a role in his selection. At the BCCI awards earlier this year, Dubey received the Lala Amarnath Award for the best allrounder in the Ranji Trophy for the 2024-25 season.
“With the Test team, you can see there is a lot of transition happening at this point,” Agarkar said. “So, we are looking at options. Obviously, there have been couple of players who have moved away from Test cricket. In one-day cricket, it is the same thing. You want guys who can contribute with the bat down the order but also have the necessary skill to be a frontline spinner. Or a frontline seam bowler. And we think he (Dubey) certainly fits the bill.”
Jammu & Kashmir fast bowler Auqib Nabi has also impressed on the domestic circuit for the last few years, especially in their historic and maiden Ranji Trophy triumph earlier this year. He was the leading wicket-taker (60 wickets) and was named Player of the in the tournament.
“There is always a chat around that,” Agarkar said of Nabi’s prospects. “You do not necessarily pick a lot of seamers when you pick a Test team in India. And he was close. But at this point, we have gone with the three that we have picked.”
India Test squad vs Afghanistan
Shubman Gill (capt), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (vice-capt) Sai Sudharsan, Rishabh Pant, Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey, Dhruv Jurel
India ODI squad vs Afghanistan
Shubman Gill (capt), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vice-capt), KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey
