According to various reports, senior pacer Jasprit Bumrah will be rested for the whole series, leaving the selection committee to choose from a number of options in the domestic circuit
Published: May 15, 2026 3:04 PM IST
The men’s national selection committee is expected to hand debuts to Punjab pacer Gurnoor Brar and Jammu & Kashmir seamer Auqib Nabi for team India’s first red-ball assignment of the year against Afghanistan who will tour for a one-off Test and 3-match ODI series next month. Although the Indians are expected to line-up a strong side for the series, big names in the bowling department could be rested.
According to various reports, senior pacer Jasprit Bumrah will be rested for the whole series, leaving the selection committee to choose from a number of options in the domestic circuit. The Board of Control for Cricket in India is expected to announce the Test and ODI squads on Tuesday, May 19 amid the on-going Indian Premier League season, which is entering its business end.
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With less than a month remaining for the conclusion of IPL 2026, the selectors could be cherry picking players on the basis of their current form in the tournament, other than the set metric of choosing the best performers from the domestic circuit.
Gurnoor Brar and Auqib Nabi in line for India debut
Punjab’s Gurnoor Brar and Jammu & Kashmir’s Auqib Nabi, two of the best bowlers in the Ranji Trophy last season, are in line to make their India debuts in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah for the one-off Test against Afghanistan, which is not a part of the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle. In simple terms, the result will not affect India’s positioning in the WTC standings.
Those closer to the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee have claimed that Gurnoor Brar has high chances of landing a maiden India cap. The Punjab fast bowler has registered an impressive 52 wickets in 18 outings at an economy rate of 3.61 with a best of 5/14.
Challenging him for the exclusive spot will be Auqib Nabi, who was a major reason behind J&K landing their maiden Ranji Trophy title last season. Nabi had accounted for a total of 60 staggering wickets in just 10 outings. On the back of his successful first-class season, the right-arm seamer was picked by the Delhi Capitals in the 2026 player auction last year.
First team bowlers Harshit Rana and Akash Deep, who got ruled out of IPL 2026 due to injuries, will not be in contention for selection until they recover fully. With three frontline pacers, including Jasprit Bumrah, already ruled out, Ajit Agarkar and co are likely to include Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna in the squad.
There is also the possibility of a new spinner coming into the side, especially after the poor performances of first-choice spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav in IPL 2026.
India Vs Afghanistan bilateral series schedule
One-off Test: June 6-10 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh PCA Stadium in New Chandigarh
1st ODI: Sunday, June 14 at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala
2nd ODI: Wednesday, June 17 at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow
3rd ODI: Saturday, June 20 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
