Why THIS former star does not picks Kuldeep Yadav for the upcoming Test vs Afghanistan?

After the successful edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, Team India is all set to play a Test match against Afghanistan at Mullanpur. The Indian cricket team is entering the test format after a while. This clash is going to be interesting as the hosts have some more clashes scheduled for this year.

Irfan Pathan opens up on Kuldeep Yadav’s place in India’s XI

Ahead of this interesting series, former Indian cricketer and one of the finest players of all time, Irfan Pathan opened up on team India’s strategy against Afghanistan. According to Irfan Pathan, team India will move forward against Afghanistan with the same strategy.

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“Absolutely copy-paste, except on one point, because the Indian team likes to bat till No. 8. That’s how they play. So maybe in place of Kuldeep Yadav, at No. 6, No. 7, and No. 8 – Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Washington Sundar.“

“Harsh Dubey coming at No. 9 and then Gurnoor Brar and one of the fast bowlers, either Siraj or Prasidh Krishna, whichever way they want to go,” he added.

“That focus will be there. When you play against Sri Lanka and other big teams, your experienced players will come. However, if Dhruv Jurel and Nitish Kumar Reddy bat at those numbers, you will get a lot of flexibility. Along with that, they will also get that much experience,” Pathan concluded.

Not only this, former Indian cricketer also applauded star all-rounder, Nitish Kumar Reddy, for his impressive performance against the Australian team in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. “Nitish Kumar Reddy has scored a hundred in Australia. That’s not a small feat. Not many people have gone as a youngster and scored a hundred in Australia. So he has the ability. At the same time, Dhruv Jurel has the ability as well. If he can score runs against Afghanistan, that will give a lot of confidence to the team management.“

Also Read: India vs Afghanistan Test Tickets Out Now: Prices, booking process and Venue details revealed

Team India’s Test squad against Afghanistan

However, now it’s time to discuss team India’s squad against Afghanistan in the Test match.

Team India squad for Test: Shubman Gill (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (VC), Sai Sudharsan, Rishabh Pant, Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Manav Suthar, Harpreet Brar, Dhruv Jurel

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