India's expected playing XI for the Afghanistan Test

India will take on Afghanistan on 14th of June at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. While it is going to be an emotional day for the Afghanistan team, the Indian team will be eager to start their preparation for the highly anticipated England tour. Even though English conditions will be completely different from what India has at home, it will be a great opportunity for the team management to get the players back in Test mode.

India will be without their captain, Virat Kohli, with Vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane leading the side in his absence. India will also miss the services of pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah. In the absence of these regulars, it will be an opportunity for the fringe players to perform well and get selected for the important tour of England. We will look at India's expected playing XI for the Test against Afghanistan.

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Openers

Murali Vijay

Vijay will be keen to get some runs under his belt

Murali Vijay has been around with the Indian team for a long time. He has been a calm head at the top of the order in the Test team. However, the right-hand batsman hasn't been in top form of late. Vijay, who did not have a good Test series against South Africa, will look to get back among the runs before the England tour. Also, with Shikhar Dhawan in the squad, Vijay would want to seal a spot in the playing XI by putting up a good performance.

KL Rahul

Can KL Rahul carry his T20 form in Test cricket?

The competition for the opener's place in the Indian Test team has been going around for a while now among KL Rahul, Murali Vijay, and Shikhar Dhawan. With Shikhar Dhawan having failed to make the most of the chances given to him, the team management might look to give KL Rahul a long run. Rahul has been in good touch in T20 cricket of late and will look to continue that in the longer format too.

Middle Order

Cheteshwar Pujara

Pujara will hold the key for India against Afghan spinners

While almost all his teammates were busy playing in the cash-rich league, IPL, Cheteshwar Pujara was toiling hard in England playing county cricket. The Test specialist has been a tremendous player for the Indian team, especially in Indian conditions. He has the appetite for scoring big runs and he will be key in tackling the Afghanistan spinners, who are a major threat to the Indian team.

Ajinkya Rahane (C)

Rahane will want to improve his batting record

Ajinkya Rahane will have a point to prove in this match. Rahane was dropped from the playing XI in South Africa despite being the vice-captain of the side. Even though he made a brilliant comeback in the third and the final Test, he will be eager to get some consistency in his batting. Rahane will also have the added responsibility of captaining the side. The last time he captained the Indian team was in the Test against Australia at Dharamsala, a match that India won and clinched the series.

Karun Nair

Karun Nair hasn't done much after his triple century against England

The Indian selectors seem to have taken a call on Rohit Sharma's Test career. With Rohit going out of favor, Karun Nair has got a look in. Nair had a lean patch after a superlative triple century against England. After a string of poor scores, Nair was dropped from the team. But Nair has got one more opportunity and he will look to make the most of it by scoring big runs.

Wicket-keeper and All-rounder

Dinesh Karthik (WK)

Karthik has been a prolific run scorer for his

state side

Tamil Nadu in Ranji Trophy

Wriddhiman Saha was ruled out of the Test match after he failed to recover from the thumb injury. Saha's loss was Dinesh Karthik's gain as he was named as Saha's replacement. Dinesh Karthik, who last played a Test match in 2010 against Bangladesh, has been in a rich vein of form. His consistent performances in the domestic circuit, in T20 cricket for the Indian team and in the IPL paved the way for his selection in the Test team. Karthik will provide a good option to the team management in England.

Hardik Pandya

Pandya has batted with intent in Test cricket

Hardik Pandya has established himself as an all-rounder in the Indian team. Pandya has played some spectacular innings in his short Test career. Also, he has provided the captain with an extra fast bowling option. In the tour of South Africa, Pandya played some gritty innings at crucial times. Pandya will take this as an opportunity to work on his bowling. It will also be interesting to see his approach against the Afghanistan spinners.

Spinners

Ravichandran Ashwin

Ashwin is mighty effective with his variations

It will be one of those few occasions where the opposite team's spin-attack is more talked about. Ravichandran Ashwin, the leader of the spin-attack, will surely want to reverse it at the end of the match. Ashwin has proved, again and again, his effectiveness as a match winner in Test cricket and has been one of the leading spinners in world cricket. Afghanistan batsmen are considered to be better players of spin bowling and it will be a challenge for Ashwin to bowl against them.

Ravindra Jadeja

Jadeja is World number 4 in ICC test rankings for bowlers

Despite being ranked 4th in Test bowlers' ranking, Ravindra Jadeja has struggled to perform well in overseas conditions. Owing to which, he did not play a single match in the Test series against South Africa. However, Jadeja is a dangerous bowler in sub-continent conditions. He is highly accurate and gives away absolutely nothing to the batsmen. Jadeja will surely be a handful for the Afghanistan batsmen.

Fast bowlers

Mohammad Shami

Shami will want the ball to do all the talking

Mohammad Shami has been going through a rough time both on and off the field. While his personal life has been making news for all the wrong reasons, his performance in the IPL has been below par. The fast bowler will look to put all this behind him and start afresh by delivering a strong performance in Bengaluru. Shami's form is crucial for the Indian team because he has the ability to change the complexion of the match with his attacking bowling.

Ishant Sharma

Ishant will look to use his experience against the inexperienced Afghanistan batting line-up

Ishant Sharma is the most experienced player in the side. He has been in decent form playing for his county side Sussex and will look to carry forward that form in International cricket too. Ishant must know that he will have to fight for his place in the playing XI once Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar are back, and thus he will want to take full advantage of this opportunity.