IND vs AFG Test: Siraj toils hard in Mullanpur heat, Gurnoor Brar troubles KL Rahul in practice

The entire India squad, including net bowlers, turned up for practice in Mullanpur on June 3. The first contingent, led by vice-captain KL Rahul, practiced in New Chandigarh on June 2. The remainder of the players, led by Shubman Gill, arrived a little later as the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season ended on May 31.

Mohammed Siraj ready for IND vs AFG Test

Amid concerns over Mohammed Siraj’s availability and the possibility of Auqib Nabi Dar replacing him in the squad, the fast bowler turned up and bowled full tilt for 25 minutes as the temperature rose to 37 degrees in Mullanpur, according to PTI.

Siraj has been playing non-stop cricket since January, and there were some concerns regarding managing his workload after he played 17 matches for the Gujarat Titans in 2 months, but it doesn’t seem like he wants to rest for the India vs Afghanistan one-off Test.

Prasidh Krishna, who’s expected to be India’s second pacer in Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep’s absence, also toiled hard in the nets for nearly 30 minutes alongside Siraj. It’s safe to assume both will start for India come June 6 against Afghanistan.

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Sairaj Bahutule leaves PBKS to join Gambhir’s backroom as spin coach ahead of IND vs AFG Test

Gurnoor Brar vs KL Rahul

Gurnoor Brar was a standout in the nets. The 6’5 right-arm fast bowler extracted sharp bounce from the good length and troubled KL Rahul. The Indian vice-captain looked solid until Gurnoor came on and forced him to induce two outside edges. Nabi bowled in multiple phases and maintained his line and length throughout the practice session.

Focus on Harsh Dubey

Bowling all-rounder Harsh Dubey spent a significant amount of time batting in the nets, as the management was keen to assess his batting ability. Dubey and his fellow left-arm orthodox spinner, Manav Suthar, bowled in adjacent nets as head coach Gautam Gambhir observed them.

Prince Yadav bowls at Shubman Gill

Prince Yadav, one of six net bowlers travelling with the team, bowled at Gill in the nets. The Indian captain and other specialist batters mostly faced the reserve bowlers. Mayank Yadav, who has also joined the squad, didn’t bowl. He focused mainly on fitness and conditioning drills.

India squad for Afghanistan Test

Shubman Gill (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (vc), Sai Sudharsan, Rishabh Pant (wk), Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey, Dhruv Jurel (wk)

Net bowlers: Gurjapneet Singh, Auqib Nabi, Prince Yadav, Saransh Jain, Zeeshan Ansari, Shivang Kumar, Mayank Yadav

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