The Indian men's cricket team will face Afghanistan in a one-off Test match starting Saturday, June 6, 2026, at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh.
The fixture marks the debut of New Chandigarh as India's 31st Test venue, occurring just six days after the conclusion of the 2026 Indian Premier League season.
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India enters the match under head coach Gautam Gambhir seeking momentum for upcoming international assignments, having previously suffered home Test series whitewashes against New Zealand and South Africa.
The hosts have named a full-strength squad captained by Shubman Gill, though premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is rested, and veteran spinners R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel are absent from the squad.
Afghanistan is playing its 13th Test match since achieving format status in 2018 and will be led by captain Hashmatullah Shahidi alongside new head coach Richard Pybus, though talismanic legspinner Rashid Khan is unavailable due to a long-standing back complaint.
Gambhir Emphasizes Test Match Significance
India head coach Gautam Gambhir emphasized that the team is fielding a strong lineup because international matches remain highly significant regardless of their standing in official tournament tables.
"A Test match is a Test match.
I know people talk about this not being part of the World Test Championship cycle but for me, it is a Test match and we need to go out there and win for the country because you don't differentiate between Test matches, whether they are part of the World Test Championship or not.
