Rishabh Pant has been removed from leadership duties in India’s upcoming Test set-up and also dropped from the ODI group for the matches against Afghanistan. The changes come as the national selectors, led by Ajit Agarkar, also manage key player workloads, with Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja both rested for the immediate assignments.
Key takeaways
- Rishabh Pant stepped down as vice-captain for India’s upcoming one-off Test versus Afghanistan and is not included in the following ODI squad.
- KL Rahul has been named vice-captain of the Test team led by Shubman Gill.
- Jasprit Bumrah is expected to miss both the next Test and ODI fixtures as part of workload management, with a return planned for England later in the summer.
- Ravindra Jadeja has been rested from the forthcoming Test match against Afghanistan.
- Manav Suthar and Gurnoor Brar earned their first Test call-ups, with Prince Yadav entering the ODI group and Ishan Kishan included as the second wicket-keeper.
Leadership changes and workload management
On Tuesday, Rishabh Pant was removed as vice-captain of India’s Test squad for the single-match contest against Afghanistan, and he was also excluded from the ODI line-up for the subsequent three-game ODI series against the same opponents.
KL Rahul has been put in charge as vice-captain for the Test team, which is captained by Shubman Gill. The selection also reflects India’s approach to workload oversight: pace leader Jasprit Bumrah has been rested from both the Test and ODI assignments that follow, though he is expected to return for the tour of England later this summer.
Agarkar, speaking after the selection meeting, indicated that Bumrah’s absence is temporary and tied to training and workload considerations, adding that the fast bowler will be back when India tours England. Alongside Bumrah, senior all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has also been rested for the upcoming Test encounter.
Schedule, squads, and debut opportunities
The Afghanistan home schedule begins with a one-off Test at Mullanpur on June 6, followed by three ODIs arranged for June 14 at Dharamsala, Lucknow, and Chennai.
In terms of new faces, spin bowler Manav Suthar and pacer Gurnoor Brar have been handed maiden Test call-ups. Both players are linked through IPL experience with Gujarat Titans. The ODI group features Prince Yadav as the fresh selection, while Ishan Kishan is named as the second wicket-keeper alongside KL Rahul.
India’s Test squad
- Shubman Gill (captain)
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- KL Rahul (vice-captain)
- Sai Sudharsan
- Rishabh Pant
- Devdutt Padikkal
- Nitish Kumar Reddy
- Washington Sundar
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Mohammed Siraj
- Prasidh Krishna
- Manav Suthar
- Gurnoor Brar
- Harsh Dubey
- Dhruv Jurel
India’s ODI squad
- Shubman Gill (captain)
- Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain)
- Rohit Sharma
- Virat Kohli
- KL Rahul (wk)
- Ishan Kishan (wk)
- Hardik Pandya
- Nitish Kumar Reddy
- Washington Sundar
- Harsh Dubey
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Arshdeep Singh
- Prasidh Krishna
- Prince Yadav
- Gurnoor Brar
