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Captain Shubman Gill has come under the scanner after the announcement of the Indian team for the upcoming one-off Test against Afghanistan. Shubman Gill has been blamed for the surprise omission of in-form uncapped paceman Auqib Nabi for the Afghanistan Test.
The Indian selectors have made some bold decisions for the upcoming one-off Test. Gill will remain the captain, while KL Rahul has been made the vice-captain. Jasprit Bumrah has been rested as part of workload management for the Afghanistan series in both Tests and ODIs.
Youngsters like Manav Suthar, Harsh Dubey, Gurnoor Brar and Prince Yadav have received first-time India call-ups after their stellar performances in the ongoing IPL 2026. His selection of the Jammu and Kashmir star for the red-ball game has raised many eyebrows.
Shubman Gill was blamed for Auqib Nabi’s exclusion from the Afghanistan Test.
The debate took a surprising turn when former India batsman Suresh Raina said that Oqib Nabi’s consistently good performances in domestic cricket deserve a Test call-up. Nabi played an important role in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ranji Trophy victory by taking 60 wickets in 17 innings.
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Raina boldly claimed that Shubman Gill may have had a role in Nabi’s ouster, as he would certainly have had a say on the kind of bowler he wants for the upcoming one-off Test against Afghanistan starting June 6 in New Chandigarh.
Suresh Raina said on JioHotstar, “Aaqib Nabi should have got a chance, but Shubman should have given his input about what kind of bowler he wanted. Aaqib Nabi should have got a chance. He played a key role in Jammu and Kashmir winning the Ranji Trophy for the first time.”
Ranji Trophy performance ignored in Auqib Nabi case?
Nabi has been one of the most consistent fast bowlers in the Ranji Trophy over the last few seasons and has put in strong performances for Jammu and Kashmir. This is why his continuous absence from the Indian team has raised many questions on the selection process.
His omission has once again given rise to the old debate in Indian cricket whether Ranji Trophy performance will be considered while selecting the team. Some people believe that players who have performed well in domestic cricket due to team balance and IPL performance are being overlooked.
Gurnoor Brar gets nod over Auqib Nabi in surprising call
The selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar has given a chance to tall fast bowler Gurnoor Brar in place of Auqib Nabi. Brar is a 6’5 inches tall fast bowler who has performed well, 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 good on paper, but his lack of regular game time over the years has led many to question his selection. In the last 3-4 years, Brar has played only one full domestic season for Punjab, where he took 27 wickets in 7 matches. His remaining appearances have not come regularly.
Indian team for the one-off Test against Afghanistan:
Shubman Gill (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (vice-captain), Sai Sudarshan, Rishabh Pant, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Manav Suthar, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey.