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Captain Shubman Gill has found himself under the scanner after India’s squad for the upcoming one-off Test against Afghanistan was announced. Shubman Gill has been blamed for the surprising exclusion of in-form uncapped pacer Auqib Nabi for the Afghanistan Test.
The Indian selectors have made some bold calls for the upcoming one-off Test. Gill will continue as captain, while KL Rahul has been named his deputy. Jasprit Bumrah has been rested as part of workload management for the Afghanistan series – both Test and ODIs.
Youngsters like Manav Suthar, Harsh Dubey, Gurnoor Brar, and Prince Yadav have received their first India call-ups after their stunning performances in the ongoing IPL 2026. Their selection over the Jammu and Kashmir star for the red-ball game raised many eyebrows.
Shubman Gill blamed for Auqib Nabi's omission for Afghanistan Test
The debate took the stunning turn after former India batter Suresh Raina said tha Auqib Nabi’s consistent performances in domestic cricket deserved Test call-up. Nabi played important role in Jammu and Kashmir’s the Ranji Trophy victory, taking 60 wickets in 17 innings.
Raina boldly claimed that Shubman Gill may have played a role in Nabi’s exclusion as he would certainly have had a say in the type of bowlers he wanted for the upcoming one-off Test against Afghanistan, starting on June 6 in New Chandigarh.
Suresh Raina said on JioHotstar: “Auqib Nabi should gave gotten a chance, but Shubman would have given his inputs about the kind of bowlers he wanted. Auqib Nabi should have gotten a chance. He played key role in Jammu and Kashmir winning the Ranji Trophy for the first time.”
Ranji Trophy performance ignored in Auqib Nabi’s case?
Nabi has been one of the most consistent fast bowlers in the Ranji Trophy over the last few seasons and has delivered strong performances for Jammu and Kashmir. That is why his continued absence from the Indian setup has left many questioning the selection process.
His omission has once again brought up an old debate in Indian cricket whether Ranji Trophy performances are being considered when the team gets picked. Some feels that players doing well in domestic cricket are getting ignored, because of the team balance and IPL performances.
Gurnoor Brar gets the nod over Auqib Nabi in surprising call
Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee has given a chance to tall pacer Gurnoor Brar over Auqib Nabi. Brar is a 6’5 fast bowler who has shown promise, but questions are being raised about his consistency compared to Nabi.
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In terms of numbers, Brar has played 18 matches and taken 52 wickets, which looks decent on paper, but his lack of regular game time over the last few years led many to question his selection. In the last 3-4 years, Brar has played only one full domestic season for Punjab, where he picked up 27 wickets in 7 matches. The rest of his appearances have not come regularly.
India squad for one-off Test against Afghanistan:
Shubman Gill (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (vc), Sai Sudharsan, Rishabh Pant, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Manav Suthar, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey
