India Vs Afghanistan 2026: The Indian men’s cricket team is all set to officially kick off its highly anticipated 2026-27 international home season with a historic multi-format bilateral series against Afghanistan. Moving away from their usual T20 clashes, the visitors will engage the Men in Blue in a high-stakes, one-off Test match followed by their first-ever bilateral three-match One Day International (ODI) series.
The historic tour begins with the red-ball segment scheduled from June 6 to June 10, 2026, at the newly developed stadium in Mullanpur. With both cricketing boards prioritizing structural workload management for their veteran stars, the series will feature a fresh look for the Indian side under the full-time captaincy of young batting sensation Shubman Gill.
Senior Stars Rested as Young Guns Take Center Stage
The squad announcements have revealed a clear blueprint for the future of both teams. For Afghanistan, premier leg-spinner Rashid Khan has been officially rested for the grueling five-day Test match to manage his physical longevity following a stellar IPL 2026 campaign where he bagged 21 wickets for Gujarat Titans. However, the 27-year-old maestro will return to lead the spin attack during the white-ball leg. In his absence, Hashmatullah Shahidi will shoulder the leadership across both formats, supported by a explosive top order featuring Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Azmatullah Omarzai.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has similarly opted to rest elite senior mainstays including frontline pacer Jasprit Bumrah and the experienced all-round duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel for the Test match. While modern icons Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will sit out the red-ball game, they are officially returning to the fold for the ODI series to fortify the top order. This tactical vacancy allows a slew of young domestic standouts—including Nitish Kumar Reddy, Manav Suthar, and Gurnoor Brar—a golden opportunity to stake their claims in the national set-up.
Complete Tour Fixtures & Match Timings
| Date(s) | Match Classification | Venue / Stadium | Start Time (IST) |
| June 06 – June 10 | One-Off Test Match | Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium, New Chandigarh | 09:30 AM |
| June 13 (Saturday) | 1st Bilateral ODI | HPCA Stadium, Dharamshala | 01:30 PM |
| June 17 (Wednesday) | 2nd Bilateral ODI | Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow | 01:30 PM |
| June 20 (Saturday) | 3rd Bilateral ODI | MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai | 01:30 PM |
Official Team Squads for the Bilateral Tour
🔴 Red-Ball Test Match Squads
India Test Squad: Shubman Gill (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (VC), Sai Sudharsan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey.
Afghanistan Test Squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Abdul Malik, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rahmanullah Zadran, Afsar Zazai (WK), Ikram Alikhil (WK), Azmatullah Omarzai, Sharafudin Ashraf, Nangyal Kharotai, Qais Ahmad, Bilal Sami, Zia Sharifi, Saleem Safi.
🔵 White-Ball ODI Squads
India ODI Squad: Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), KL Rahul (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Hardik Pandya, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey.
Afghanistan ODI Squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Rahmat Shah, Ikram Alikhil (WK), Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharotai, AM Ghazanfar, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi, Fareed Malik, Bilal Sami.
Streaming and Broadcast Ecosystem
The home tour will see extensive media coverage across the subcontinent. Sports18 Network holds the exclusive television rights to broadcast the matches live in standard and high-definition formats, featuring comprehensive commentary teams in English, Hindi, and regional languages. Digital viewers can catch every single ball live for free via the JioCinema app and website across multiple screen resolutions.
Cricket fans can look forward to an action-packed June as Afghanistan tries to break its winless streak against a transitioning Indian powerhouse on traditional subcontinent spinning tracks.