Siraj a doubt for the Afghanistan Test as Gurnoor Brar waits on a debut
India have three days to settle on a bowling attack for their one-off Test against Afghanistan, and the central question is whether Mohammed Siraj is part of it. The seamer pulled up with a shoulder problem during Gujarat Titans' IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 against Rajasthan Royals, and with BCCI medical staff still monitoring him, the team management is expected to take a final call within the next couple of days.
The injury is only half the story. Even if Siraj is passed fit, there is a separate argument for holding him back. He carried one of the heaviest workloads of any quick at the IPL, bowling 62 overs in a season that ran all the way to Gujarat's defeat in the final, and the selectors are reluctant to send him straight into a red-ball week when a white-ball tour of England follows in July.
A workload call as much as a fitness one
India have already protected one strike bowler for this assignment. Jasprit Bumrah was left out of both the Test and the three ODIs that follow, the board choosing to keep him fresh for England rather than play him in a series that sits outside the World Test Championship cycle. Resting Siraj as well would leave India light on senior pace, which is the knot the management is trying to untie before the toss.
It is not a marquee fixture, and that shapes the thinking. The match carries no Championship points, and India are treating the wider window as preparation for the bigger assignments to come. Against that, the selectors are wary of fielding a seam attack that has barely bowled together.
Brar in line, Nabi called in as cover
If Siraj is held back, Gurnoor Brar is the most likely man to step in for a Test debut. The Punjab pacer was named in both the Test and ODI squads, and with Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Brar the only frontline seamers picked for the red-ball game, a Siraj absence would push Brar straight into the side. Auqib Nabi, the Jammu and Kashmir quick who pushed hard for a squad place, has been brought into the camp's bowling group as cover, initially among the net bowlers.
Former India captain Anil Kumble, reading the same squad, has tipped India to hand out two debuts in Mullanpur, a sign of how much this side is leaning on its next generation rather than its established names.
A young side under Gill
The bowling call sits inside a wider shift in this squad. Shubman Gill captains, and KL Rahul comes in as his deputy, taking the vice-captaincy from Rishabh Pant, who stays on purely as a batter and wicketkeeper. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal and Nitish Kumar Reddy fill out a batting order with plenty to prove and little Test mileage between them.
Afghanistan, playing only their second Test on Indian soil after their 2018 debut, arrive with little to lose and a spin attack that can ask questions on a turning surface. India will back their depth, but the bowling combination they settle on this week tells you how seriously they are taking the long game beyond it. The first ball is due on June 6 at the New PCA Stadium in Mullanpur, with the Test running through to June 10.
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