After IPL 2026, now the Indian player is going to participate in the series against Afghanistan. The Afghan team has come to India to play 1 Test and 3 ODI matches. The only test is going to be played in New Chandigarh from June 6. For this match, many new faces have got a chance in the team captained by Shubman Gill, which also includes the name of left arm spin all-rounder Harsh Dubey. 23 year old Harsh Dubey plays for Vidarbha in domestic cricket. He holds the record for taking most wickets in a single Ranji season.
Harsh did this feat in the 2024-25 season. He left Bihar’s Ashutosh Aman (68 wickets) behind by taking 69 wickets. Vidarbha team became Ranji champion that season, in which Harsh played an important role. Harsh has been a part of India-A for some time now. So far he has taken 133 wickets in 27 first class matches. Harsh also bats usefully in the lower order, due to which he is considered a perfect replacement for Ravindra Jadeja. He has scored 9 half-centuries in first class cricket.
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Will Harsh get a chance to make test debut?
Apart from Harsh, Rajasthan’s Manav Sudhar has also been selected in the Indian team. With senior players like Ravindra Jadeja being given rest, space has been created for these two youngsters. Like Harsh, Suthar has also performed well in first class cricket and has taken 129 wickets in 29 matches. Apart from this, one century and six half-centuries are also recorded in his name. Now there is a competition between Harsh and Suthar for a slot in Team India’s playing XI. Experienced spinners like Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar will come into the direct playing XI, while the third spinner can be one of Harsh and Suthar.
Many veterans including R Ashwin believe that Harsh should get a chance first. Ashwin said that Harsh has also performed well in the IPL, due to which he has the upper hand. Let us tell you that Harsh has played a lot of club cricket under the mentorship of Ashwin in Chennai, due to which this former legend of Team India knows him very closely.
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Ashwin has special interest in Harsh
Ashwin told Geostar, ‘I have my eyes set on Harsh Dubey and I am curious to know whether he gets a chance or not. We will have to wait and see whether the team chooses Manav Suthar or Harsh Dubey but Dubey has performed brilliantly in domestic cricket and hence I have special interest in him.
He further said, ‘Dubey had also performed well in the IPL and hence he seems to have the upper hand. I am eager to see Dubey debut. The former Indian spinner has also expressed hope from captain Shubman Gill that he will repeat his batting performance abroad on home ground as well. He said, ‘Gill performed well as a captain and batsman in the England tour. He scored runs there in difficult conditions and handled the pressure well. I hope that he will leave his mark as a captain and batsman in the home series also.
Indian team for the one-off test against Afghanistan: Shubman Gill (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (vice-captain), Sai Sudarshan, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper).
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