5 players who missed out from India's Test squad against Afghanistan

The Indian Test team to take on Afghanistan has been announced and the usual suspects make the cut, barring captain Virat Kohli who will play for Surrey ahead of the England series.

However, this was an opportunity for the selectors to give few promising but untested names a go ahead and prove the mettle against the Afghans who will be playing their inaugural Test match.

Here in this slider, we take a look at five such players who missed out owing to the tough competition in the side and could have got the green flag had the selectors decided to test raw talent.

#5 Rajneesh Gurbani

The Vidarbha-seamer was one of the most promising prospects from the Ranji season this year. He was the wrecker-in-chief for Vidarbha as they clinched the title and he could have been included in the side owing to his ability to swing the ball both ways.

In six matches this season, he picked up 39 wickets at an average of 17.12 and with a strike rate of 33.7. His best bowling figures read seven wickets for 68 runs which came on the final morning as Vidarbha completed a historic triumph.

#4 K Gowtham

The young Karnataka all-rounder was among the hottest picks in the Indian Premier League this season and has been impressive for the Rajasthan Royals.

However, his all-round skill has been a big advantage for Karnataka with the red ball as he renders a perfect balance to the squad. He has the ability to hold one end up and exert pressure and if the conditions favour him can also pick up wickets.

Also, he is a reliable batsman with a penchant for big hitting and could have been tried instead of the tried and trusted Ravichandran Ashwin.

#3 Anmolpreet Singh

The Punjab batsman has been a prolific run-scorer in the Ranji side and could have been given a nod ahead of Shikhar Dhawan who has been playing non-stop since the Champions Trophy.

The right-hander was amongst the runs in the previous season as well and in seven innings he scored 753 runs at an average of 125.50 which also includes three centuries.

#2 Mayank Agarwal

Perhaps the biggest omission has to be of Mayank Agarwal who has been in scintillating form in not only the Ranji trophy but also in white-ball cricket.

He was plucked out by Kings XI Punjab for this year's IPL and has looked solid in all the matches.

Mayank was the leading run scorer in the previous season and in 13 innings in eight matches, he scored 1160 runs at an average of 105.45. He also scored five centuries and a couple of half-centuries along the way.

#1 Shreyas Iyer

He was been touted to replace Virat Kohli but has been instead picked to play in India A squad. Shreyas Iyer has been knocking the door for a long time now and should have been handed this opportunity ahead of Karun Nair.

He was in red-hot form for India in the ODIs against Sri Lanka and has carried this form into the IPL. Also, he was named as Kohli's replacement for the Dharamsala Test against the Australians back in 2017.