Get ready for a historic showdown! The much-awaited one-off Test of Afghanistan’s tour of India 2026 is set to ignite from June 6 to 10, 2026, at the stunning Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh. India enters this match as overwhelming favourites after a strong home Test record, while Afghanistan will look to build on their growing experience in the longest format. India have been dominant at home in recent years, and this promises to be another tough test for the visitors. We fancy India to come out on top convincingly. Let’s break it down with detailed insights, team performances, pitch report, and our IND vs AFG Test Match Prediction.
Team Preview
India Preview – The one-off Test being played by India will be the first time Shubman Gill has captained a Test. Support for the captain comes in the form of a strong batting lineup of Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, who is the vice-captain, Rishabh Pant and Nitish Kumar Reddy. This supports the spin options of Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar, both of whom provide good balance to the attack. Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna lead the pace options, adding balance, as do newer players Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey.
India will be starting the series with a stellar home record and will be trying to continue that record, and we expect India will win comfortably.
Afghanistan Preview – Only the second Test match between Afghanistan and India will happen now, with Afghanistan led by Hashmatullah Shahidi and with solid core players, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and Ibrahim Zadran, with some talks implying he takes this one off. There are other players too, Azmatullah Omarzai and the spin threat, Rashid Khan (who also may take this one off) or Qais Ahmad. There has been growth shown in batting, meanwhile in bowling, with India’s strong batting lineup, in India, this will be a challenging one.
For Afghanistan, this will be a big learning experience and a growing one at that, with the full-strength Indian team, and at home, and this one will be a tough challenge.
India vs Afghanistan Winning Percentage
Time: 9:30 AM IST (Local)
Date: June 6-10, 2026
Venue: Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, New Chandigarh
Format: Test Match
Streaming: Likely JioHotstar / Star Sports Network (standard for BCCI matches)
India Winning Chances: 85%
Afghanistan Winning Chances: 10%
IND vs AFG Pitch Report
The Mullanpur pitch for this debut Test is expected to be a batting paradise early on, with a relatively flat surface and minimal grass cover on the central wicket. It should offer good bounce and carry initially, favouring batters who can settle in. As the match progresses, the dry conditions will assist spinners significantly, especially in the latter half. Expect high scores in the first innings, with the pitch potentially deteriorating to offer sharp turn later. Pace bowlers may get some assistance with the new ball, but spin will likely dominate.
First Test: June 14-18, 2018, Bengaluru – India won by an innings and 262 runs. Most Recent: Same as above (only encounter).
Recent Performance in Tests
India: Strong at home with competitive results away (recent series mixed but dominant domestically).
Afghanistan: Mixed form; capable of upsets but often challenged against top teams (recent results vs Zimbabwe and others show competitiveness in patches).