New Delhi: Afghanistan play their inaugural Test against India at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru from Thursday. Having achieved relative success in the T20 and ODI format, this is the big break for the boys from the war-torn nation. While India will miss the services of regular skipper Virat Kohli — out injured — Ajinkya Rahane is set to lead a team that is otherwise at full strength. CricketNext takes a look at the 5 players from the Afghanistan outfit who would look to make it a match to remember for the new boys on the Test block: Rashid Khan He is to Afghanistan what Virat Kohli is to the Indian team — a match-winner. The wicket doesn’t really matter when the new spin sensation has the ball in his hand. His spells over the years in different T20 leagues as well as for the national team has bamboozled batsmen all over. Be it his fast leg-spinners or his ripping googlies, it is on the back of sheer consistent performance that he earned the tag of the best T20 bowler at present from the legendary Sachin Tendulkar during this edition of the Indian Premier League. A T20 hero in his own right, it is now time for Rashid to up his ante and show that he can get the red ball to rip just as much as he has managed to get revolutions on the white ball. If Afghanistan is to make a match of their inaugural Test match, then Rashid will definitely have to lead the show from the front. His experience in the IPL will come in handy as the nature of the Bengaluru wicket won’t be a surprise for him, having played for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Mujeeb Ur Rahman An unknown identity on the world stage till Kings XI Punjab picked him at the auction at this year’s IPL, for a staggering Rs4 crore, the 17-year-old reposed the faith of the owners with sterling performances, the highlight being the dismissal of RCB skipper Virat Kohli. Injury saw him miss a few games, but the spinner still finished with 14 wickets from 11 games at an economy of 6.99. A mystery bowler, Mujeeb bowled the perfect googly to sneak through the bat and pad of Kohli and rattle the stumps. Kohli couldn’t believe his eyes as the youngster celebrated one of his best wickets. Despite no experience at the first-class level, it was Mujeeb’s performance in the IPL that earned him a place in the Test squad and his mixture of off-spin, leg-spin and googlies could be quite a handful for the Indian batsmen even if there is an inch of turn on the M. Chinnaswamy wicket. The fact that he has performed well against some of the best sides at the U-19 level would further act as a confidence booster when he takes the field in Afghanistan’s first Test, especially the five-for he took against Pakistan in the final of the Asia Cup. Asghar Stanikzai He is the captain of the ship and while the team is set to play its maiden Test against India, Stanikzai has already made a name for himself in the international arena. While associate team players have over the years had a habit of playing reckless cricket, trying to attempt a shot off every ball, the 30-year-old is one of those batsmen who have the mindset to spend long hours at the crease without losing his focus. He was out for 10 days with appendicitis surgery earlier this year — Rashid Khan led the team at the World Cup qualifiers — but the man is back and he would definitely want to show that his knocks against the minnows of world cricket were no flashes in the pan. He was an integral member of the Afghanistan team that beat Bangladesh to register their first win over a Test-playing nation and his knock of unbeaten 90 off 103 balls was one of the cornerstones of the team’s 32-run win over the Bangla Tigers. As skipper, Asghar will look to take on Ajinkya Rahane and his boys on the front-foot, much like his batting. Mohammad Shahzad The burly wicketkeeper has an eye for headlines. Be it with the bat or his statements, Shahzad believes in living life to the fullest. Add to that his prolific numbers in T20 cricket and you have the complete package. Earmarked a T20 specialist due to lack of opportunities in the longer formats, the 30-year-old has shown that he is no ‘see ball, hit ball’ batsman when he hit a quality unbeaten 214 to chase down a target of 494 in a 2010 Intercontinental Cup match against Canada. Coming to his off field antics, he recently stole headlines when he said that he didn’t need to work on his diet as he could hit longer sixes than India skipper Virat Kohli. With the world watching when his team plays its inaugural Test against India from June 14, Shahzad would definitely look to use the opportunity to once again steal the limelight on the field. In 2016, he was named the ICC Associate & Affiliate Cricketer of the Year, thereby becoming the first Afghan player to get the award and a successful outing in his country’s inaugural Test would be another feather in his cap. Mohammad Nabi One of the senior-most members of the team, Nabi has also been the leader of the pack in the past on a couple of occasions. In fact, along with Rashid Khan, he was the first Afghanistan player to be picked up by Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League. The experience of playing against some of the best Indian players in the IPL will definitely come in handy as he will look to guide the young Afghanistan players, bound to be nervous in their first Test match. Apart from leading the team in the past, Nabi is another Afghanistan player who has been a part of the various T20 leagues across the globe like the Big Bash League, Bangladesh Premier League and Pakistan Super League among others.<doc-sep>India pacer Mohammed Shami was dropped from the Test team for the one-off match against Afghanistan after he failed to clear the fitness test at NCA, Bengaluru, BCCI's All-India Senior Selection Committee said on Monday. Fast bowler Navdeep Saini was named as Shami's replacement for the lone Test. "The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Navdeep Saini as Mohammed Shami's replacement in the Indian Test team for the upcoming Paytm Test against Afghanistan. The announcement came after Shami failed to clear the fitness test at NCA, Bengaluru", the media release said. India A fast bowlers Mohammed Siraj and Rajneesh Gurbani were also asked by the team management to attend the training sessions. "The Indian team management has requested that India A fast bowlers Mohammed Siraj and Rajneesh Gurbani attend the training sessions of the Indian team and bowl at the Indian batsmen in the nets. A request was also made for Ankit Rajpoot, but the Uttar Pradesh fast bowler is unwell," the release added. Meanwhile, the selection committee has named Ishan Kishan in India A team for the away one-day series against England Lions and West Indies A. Promoted Sanju Samson, who was originally named in the squad, also failed his fitness test and was replaced by former India Under 19 captain, who cleared his fitness test. India play Afghanistan in the one-off Test in Bengaluru beginning June 14.<doc-sep>ALSO READ: ALSO READ: Squads: India: Afghanistan: BENGALURU: Statistically, it's a classic David vs Goliath showdown but contextually, it's the beginning of a historic new chapter in international cricket as world No.1 India take on a war-ravaged-but-resilient Afghanistan in their first ever Test match on Thursday.While majority of the sports fans, in soul and spirit, will be in Russia enjoying the surreal skills of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the eternal cricket romantic will try to derive his little pleasures of life watching Rashid Khan trying to hurry Shikhar Dhawan with a flipper or bowl a googly to Ajinkya Rahane There is always a nervous anticipation associated with performance of a new team but the politico-social narrative associated with Afghanistan gives the game a different context.On the surface, it is just another Test match but it is much beyond that.The Rashids, Mujeeb Zadrans and Mohammed Shahzads would like to put their best foot forward in trying to at least provide their countrymen a refuge in sporting success.India have been Afghanistan's close allies and the BCCI has shown magnanimity in opening their stadiums so that the national team can practice.But come Thursday, Rahane's India will not spare an inch as they are expected to put up a ruthless show.No wonder the iconic CLR James line is still so relevant "What do they know of Cricket who only Cricket Know. "India, sans their regular skipper Virat Kohli along with two frontline bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah, will look to record a comprehensive win before embarking on their long and grueling tour of England.For Afghanistan, it will be a battle of attrition that they have never ever faced before. Test cricket is a different beast and Rashid's real battle starts now.That he is a brilliant four-over bowler, is a known and acknowledged fact.However, the acid Test will start when he bowls that fifth over. The intelligence will be tested during the 15th over, patience during the 23rd over and endurance during the 40th over.More importantly, will Rashid be able to maintain his quick arm speed over after over.As Afghanistan coach Phil Simmons said, his men won't understand what is Test cricket until they get onto the field.With no pressure of asking rate, a Murali Vijay or a Chesteshwar Pujara, if set, will play at their own pace. The Indian batsmen in their own backyard are not known to pull back punches.Can a 17-year-old Mujeeb, who hasn't played a single four-day game in his career, trouble a KL Rahul with whom he shared the IPL dressing room at the Kings XI Punjab?This time he won't have Ravichandran Ashwin 's guidance. Instead Ashwin might pass on a few valuable inputs to his batsmen on how to tackle Mujeeb.Will Shahzad be able to curb his natural attacking instinct as the five-day format demands different attritional skills?That Afghanistan have no idea how difficult it can get could be gauged from their skipper Asghar Stanikzai 's pompous claims that his spinners are better than the home team.When Dinesh Karthik was asked, his singular statement made it clear what the team thought about it. "Our Kuldeep Yadav (2 Tests) has played more first-class games than all their spinners put together. I know from where its coming but I wouldn't to harp too much on that," Karthik said.However, the Indians having watched and played against Rashid will be wary of what he can do.That's the reason the Indian team management might just prefer a hard bouncy track knowing full well that a rank turner could boomerang on them.The problem with Afghanistan will not be their spinners but their batsmen.How well Shahzad, Mohammed Nabi negotiate Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will have a direct impact on the kind of fight Afghanistan will be able to put on.And even before that they will have to counter the disconcerting bounce generated by Ishant Sharma and the pace worked up by Umesh Yadav.As Kevin Pietersen said during his MAK Pataudi Lecture, a lot will depend on their "ability to take lessons from the nets into the heat of battle".Ireland had put up a respectable fight against Pakistan on their Test debut but again it was Kevin O'Brien who was the silver lining in the batting department.But whatever be the outcome, "a beautiful journey" has already begun for Afghanistan.Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara , KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, Ravichandran Ashwin. Ravindra Jadeja. Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav.Ashgar Stanikzai (captain), Mohammed Shahzad, Javed Ahmadi, Rahmat Shah, Ihsanullah Janat, Nasir Jamal, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Afsar Zazai, Mohammed Nabi, Rashid Khan, Zahir Khan, Amir Hamza Hotak, Sayed Ahmad Shirzad, Yamin Ahmadzai Wafadar, Mujeeb ur Rahman.<doc-sep>India will be meeting Afghanistan in the first-ever Test for the strife-torn nation. Afghanistan will become the 12th Test-playing nation once they take the field vs India, who will be without their talismanic skipper Virat Kohli and key bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah. Afghanistan will be hoping for a good show as they have so far shown their skills in the 20-over with very limited experience in first-class cricket. Ajinkya Rahane will be leading the Indian team and he will be hoping to post a win against rivals who will be going all out to make an impression. When will the India vs Afghanistan one-off Test match be played? The India vs Afghanistan one-off Test match will be played from June 14, 2018. Where will the India vs Afghanistan one-off Test match be played? The India vs Afghanistan one-off Test match will be played at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. How do I watch the India vs Afghanistan one-off Test match live? The India vs Afghanistan one-off Test match will be telecast live by the Star Network. What time the India vs Afghanistan one-off Test match start? The live telecast of the India vs Afghanistan one-off Test match will begin at 9.30 am IST. Promoted Where can you follow the India vs Afghanistan one-off Test match online? The India vs Afghanistan one-off Test match will be streamed live on Hotstar. For live updates, you can follow sports.ndtv.com.<doc-sep>
India play host to Afghanistan in the historic one-off Test beginning on Thursday at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. India's wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik is looking forward to playing against Afghanistan in their maiden outing in Test whites. "Their journey has been an inspiration for international cricket. Everyone knows it's a tough place and the turmoil that they are going through, but in spite of that they are able to inspire people with their performances," Karthik was quoted to as saying by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Spinners Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb ur Rahman form a vital triumvirate of the Afghanistan team. These three have been popular picks in Twenty20 leagues around the world, especially the Indian Premier League (IPL). In the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2018 in New Zealand earlier this year, Afghanistan finished fourth, demonstrating again the strength of their age-group riches. To get so far with limited resources and infrastructure is credit to them, said Karthik on Tuesday, June, ahead of the start of the one-off Test on Thursday. "They're able to produce big players even in a tournament like the IPL (Indian Premier League)," pointed out Karthik. "They have some key players who are producing some big performances for them. I'm happy to see a country like that doing so well in cricket. Today, they are household names in the few years they've played. It's only going to get better. I genuinely hope they have the opportunity to play a lot of Test cricket." Promoted The Test against India will be Afghanistan's first step towards being ranked on the ICC Test Team Rankings and a chance for the players to enter the individual rankings after making a mark in limited overs cricket. Should India lose the encounter, they will lose three points. However, their number-one position is under no threat, courtesy to a 13-point lead over South Africa.