Afghanistan name spin-heavy squad for historic India Test

Bengaluru, June 13 (CRICKETNMORE) - Afghanistan will embark on a new journey in their cricket history when they make their Test debut against a Virat Kohli-less No.1-ranked India in the historic one-off Test at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Thursday. Afghanistan,

India have a little advantage in the upcoming Test as their batsmen have already faced a couple of Afghan spinners in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Afghan stars Rashid and Mujeeb enjoyed fruitful campaigns in the IPL, playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kings XI Punjab respectively. But the home side have to be a little conscious that they don't slip on a potential banana skin as they come into the game without any match practice. India also have a couple of new players in their squad, which will make Rahane's task of fielding the right combination a bit difficult.

Three key players -- regular skipper Kohli along with pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have been rested as they prepare for the challenging tour to England next month. New inclusions like wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini and Karun Nair will aim to make the most of this chance and would like to cement their place in the playing XI.