India Predicted XI for the Afghanistan Test

The historic one-off Test match between India and Afghanistan is all set to commence from Thursday at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.

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The Indian side is currently the number 1 in the ICC Test rankings and will enter the match as the overwhelming favourites.

But the opposition should not be taken lightly, though it is their debut Test match, as they are coming off a brilliant T20I series victory over Bangladesh.

Ajinkya Rahane will lead the Indian contingent for the second time in his career as the regular skipper Virat Kohli and wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha will miss the game due to injuries.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah are being given rest keeping in mind of their upcoming workload in the England tour.

However the team combination still looks pretty strong enough to be able to dominate over the debutants over the next five days.

Here is the predicted playing XI for the Indian side:

Openers (Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay)

Both these batsmen have been preferred as the openers for the longer format of the game for the last few years and has done extremely well at the top of the order.

After playing just one game in the IPL and spending almost the whole season on the bench, Vijay would be itching to get some runs and boost his confidence before the all-important England tour.

Dhawan has been in good touch over the last few games and his record at home has been exceptional. If he can get going, there is no stopping him from scoring a century. It is important for India that these openers give a good start so that they can put pressure on the underdogs.

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