India name Gill-led squads for Afghanistan as Rahul takes Test deputy job from Pant and Bumrah rests
India will travel to the Afghanistan series with Shubman Gill leading both the Test and ODI squads, KL Rahul taking the Test vice-captaincy from Rishabh Pant, and Jasprit Bumrah rested in both formats. Ajit Agarkar's selection committee announced the squads in Guwahati on Tuesday, with three uncapped players earning their maiden ODI call-ups and Ishan Kishan returning to the white-ball setup after a long absence.
The one-off Test runs from June 6 to 10 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh. The three-match ODI series follows in Dharamsala, Lucknow and Chennai, finishing on June 20.
Pant loses the Test deputy job he held under Gill
Rahul's elevation is the louder line on the team-sheet. Pant remains in the Test squad as a specialist wicketkeeper-batter, but the deputy role goes to Rahul, who has had a steadier red-ball run since returning from injury and who stood in capably during white-ball assignments. Selectors had been signalling for weeks that Pant's leadership load was affecting his batting, and the Afghanistan reshuffle is the cleanest way to take that load off without dropping him from the eleven.
For Gill, the structure is now consistent across both formats. He has Rahul in the Test setup and Shreyas Iyer as ODI vice-captain, with Iyer returning to that role after the IPL captaincy noise around him was officially shut down by the BCCI in the days leading up to the meeting.
Bumrah rested, Rohit and Hardik picked subject to fitness
Bumrah missing both formats is workload management rather than form. Agarkar's panel has been openly pacing his red-ball appearances, and the Afghanistan Test, on flat sub-continental conditions against a side India are expected to handle comfortably, fits the rest profile cleanly. Prasidh Krishna leads the seam attack in his absence in both squads.
Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya were both named in the ODI squad subject to fitness clearance. Rohit has been managing a hamstring issue carried over from IPL 2026, and Hardik needs to pass the BCCI's standardised fitness benchmarks before he travels. Virat Kohli, who has played the full IPL for RCB, is in the ODI squad without conditions.
Three first ODI caps and a Kishan recall
The three maiden ODI call-ups are right-arm pacer Gurnoor Brar, left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey and seamer Prince Yadav. Brar and Dubey also feature in the Test squad. Yadav's reward comes after a standout IPL 2026 with Lucknow Super Giants that has put him squarely in the white-ball conversation. Brar is fresh off a 33-wicket Ranji season at an average under 26 for Punjab, and Dubey was the player of the tournament in the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy with a record-breaking 69 wickets in Vidarbha's title-winning campaign.
Kishan returning to the ODI fold is the other talking point. He has been out of India's ODI setup for an extended period, and the recall comes on the back of an IPL 2026 in which he has been one of SRH's most consistent batters, including a match-winning 70 at Chepauk that sealed Sunrisers' playoff place. He shares the wicketkeeping responsibility with Rahul for the ODI series.
A transition squad against a manageable opponent
This is India's first home international assignment of the 2026-27 cycle, and the shape of the squad is more about transition than continuity. Agarkar has reshuffled the deputy roles around Gill without dropping any of the seniors, capped three new ODI players in a series the side is heavily favoured to win, and given Bumrah a clean rest before bigger fixtures later in the cycle. The Afghanistan Test, only the second between the two nations after the 2018 innings win in Bengaluru, is also a soft landing for the new caps under Gill.
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