Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket PlayersRishabh Pant demoted, Jasprit Bumrah rested; 4 maiden call-ups amid Rohit-Hardik injury concerns for IND vs AFG series
Rishabh Pant was removed as India's Test vice-captain as the BCCI announced squads for the series against Afghanistan.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has handed maiden call-ups to four promising youngsters for the Test and ODI series against Afghanistan starting June 6. Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey, Manav Suthar and Prince Yadav have been named across the two squads, with pacer Gurnoor earning a place in both teams. Left-arm spinners Harsh Dubey and Manav Suthar will join Brar in the Test set-up, while Delhi fast bowler Prince Yadav has been included in the ODI side. The announcement was made by BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia in the presence of chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar after a two-hour meeting in Guwahati on Tuesday.
On expected lines, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja were rested from both squads, while the Mumbai Indians duo of Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya retained their spots in the ODI side, although their participation remains subject to fitness. Apart from the expected changes, the BCCI also replaced Rishabh Pant as India’s Test vice-captain with KL Rahul.
"Obviously, he is not part of the ODI squad at the moment," Agarkar said about Pant. "We want him to become the best Test player that he has always been. I don't think there is any concern with his spot in the Test team. I think he is one of our main batters in that line-up. [He] had a really good tour of England till he got injured. So, I am sure he would like a few more runs. But he has always been very good in Test cricket. At this point, yes, we have gone with two different [wicketkeeping] options in one-day cricket. But in Test cricket, he remains one of our main players."
The series will kick off with the one-off Test in New Chandigarh, followed by the three ODIs on June 14, 17 and 20 in Dharamsala, Lucknow and Chennai.
What the four fresh faces bring to the table
Suthar, 23, has played 29 first-class matches and taken 129 wickets at an average of 25.76. He featured for India A against South Africa A in Bengaluru in late 2025 and also represented Rest of India in the Irani Cup against Vidarbha, where he picked up five wickets and scored an unbeaten 56. Meanwhile, Brar, 25, has played 18 FC games and nine List A matches. He took 11 wickets in eight matches for Punjab in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and was also the joint highest wicket taker with eight scalps in India A’s two four-day matches against Australia A. Prince, 25, has been in the news for dismissing Virat Kohli in the IPL but he finished as his team’s leading wicket-taker and the fifth highest overall in the Vijay Hazare Trophy season, claiming 18 wickets in eight matches at an average of 19.27.
“There were a couple of guys who were injured who were part of the one-day squad before. With Gurnoor, we have seen a lot of promise over the last season and a half. He is a tall guy with a bit of pace. Keeping the South Africa World Cup in mind, we are obviously going to try a few guys who at that point might be useful if they keep developing. Prince Yadav has shown a lot of promise through the domestic season. Obviously, he bowled well in the IPL,” Agarkar added.
"We have seen that he has grown a lot as a bowler over the last year or so. Again, he has the necessary skills to succeed with the white ball. It is a great opportunity with these three ODIs coming up because with the way the rules are structured and so much is in favour of the batsmen, you are obviously looking at guys with regards to conditions in South Africa who have a chance of succeeding.”
