India vs Afghanistan: Top five batsmen to look forward to in the contest

June 14, 2018, will be a historic date in the case of Afghanistan, as far as the sport of cricket is considered. Once considered minnows, Afghanistan can no longer be seen so, as they are all set to make a historic debut in Test cricket, the stage which is considered as the pinnacle of the game. In doing so, Afghanistan becomes the 12th nation to have played red-ball cricket.

And by playing their inaugural test match against current No. 1 team India, the Afghans cannot ask for a more grand way to mark their debut in Tests. The game is slated to begin on June 14th, 2018, and will be played at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.

Before we go into the game which is less than a week away, let us take a look at the few important batsmen whose performance will be key to their team's respective efforts.

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#1 Lokesh Rahul

India's opening batsman Lokesh Rahul will be a force to reckon, at India's top order. Coming to play with the backing of having had a hugely successful IPL season with the bat, where he top-scored for his team the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), Rahul will be full of confidence while facing the likes of Rashid Khan, whom he has already faced in the IPL. Having faced fellow-KXIP team-mate Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the nets gives him yet another advantage. Once Rahul and fellow-opener Murali Vijay click in the beginning of the Indian innings, it will set a proper momentum for the others to follow.

Rahul shares more than his first name with the Indian legend Rahul Dravid; the dogged resistance, the compact, airtight technique, and the unimpeachable focus at the crease are all common factors between the two batting technicians. With age on his side, Rahul can definitely continue to develop as a player and with an all-conditions' technique to go with it, he is an exciting prospect for India's long and challenging overseas season and he would like to reinforce his spot as a long-term option for India as a premier Test opener.

Rahul has 1458 runs in 23 Test matches so far, at an average of 40.02.

#2. Asghar Stanikzai

Stanikzai playing against the England Lions

The long-serving Afghanistan captain can be credited for the rapid rise of the war-torn country in cricket. Having started off as a mere associate nation, Afghanistan, under Stanikzai's inspiring leadership, is now a full-fledged cricket playing nation - across all the three formats of the game.

As a pure batsman, it's not completely fair to say that Stanikzai's abilities are average like his numbers suggest because they have often helped the team fight for victories. He is also one of the most experienced batsmen in the team. Defensive by technique, he also has the ability to sparkle when needed. Stanikzai is definitely someone who could do well at the top order for the Afghans. That it is his debut in all-whites would not matter much, because he has enough experience in International cricket to trump the debut factor.

Asghar Stanikzai has 1651 runs across 82 ODI innings, his high score being 101, the only century he has made in international limited over games.

#3. Cheteshwar Pujara

Pujara playing for Nottinghamshire in County cricket last season

'"When you're playing Test cricket for your country, you can't just play your natural game. You play the circumstances." These are the famous words of Cheteshwar Pujara when he was asked about playing Test matches. What he said certainly reflected his playing attitude - It has always "Team first, self later" for the Saurashtra batsman who has been donning the whites for India for almost eight years now. As India's most trusted No. 3 batsman, Pujara has repaid the faith on him more often than not. Once he is set, it will take more than a Herculean effort to dislodge him, and it will be a daunting task for the Afghan bowlers to do so.

Coming from a fairly successful county cricket season with Yorkshire, the experience of playing there will be an added advantage for Pujara, in contrast to everyone else, who are back after limited-over-game seasons, either in the IPL or elsewhere. It will also be interesting to see how he fares against Afghan bowling spearhead Rashid Khan.

Pujara has 4496 runs from 57 Test matches at an average of 50.52 so far.

#4. Rahmat Shah

Rahmat Shah will look to negate the Indian spinners

Rahmat Shah is seen as the new-age Afghanistan batsman who is capable of playing in all formats of the game. Technically adequate, Rahmat Shah has turned out to the bulwark of Afghanistan's middle-order since late 2016 when he first started to be a consistent starter for the team. Consistent contributions during the 2018 World Cup qualifiers as Afghanistan overcame a shocking start to emerge champions only strengthened his place in the squad.

With Afghanistan having gained Test status, Shah is one amongst those batsmen who will be expected to shore up an 'explosive but prone to collapses' middle-order. As a middle-order batsman, Rahmat would mostly be tested by the Indian spin-duo of Ashwin and Jadeja, and Mohammad Shami's reverse swing. Yet he remains one of Afghanistan's most promising batsmen in the contest.

Rahmat Shah has garnered 1497 runs from 44 ODIs at an impressive average of 38.38. He also has three ODI tons in his kitty.

#5. Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik is playing Test Cricket after a span of eight years

Dinesh Karthik has perhaps missed out on playing at the highest level during his peak, as have several other keepers in the Dhoni era. The opening finally came after the retirement of Dhoni from Tests in late 2014, but Wriddhiman Saha was constantly picked ahead of him, just as he was this time as well. With Saha forced out by an injury, Karthik might have had a lucky break this time around. Also having had a very successful IPL season with the bat competing against the likes of Lokesh Rahul, Karthik might just become a mainstay in the Test team if he is able to perform well in the game. We have already seen is match-winning abilities at the Nihadas Trophy held earlier this year, where he literally snatched victory from the jaws of Bangladesh.

Speaking about Tests, it has been Karthik played his last test back in 2010. The highest point in his Test career was when Karthik replaced Sehwag in the 2007 tour of England as an opener. Showing a stoic, airtight technique and unfavourable conditions, he ended the Test series as India's highest run-getter, ahead of some big names like Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, and the great Sachin Tendulkar, playing a significant role in handing India an elusive away series win. This speaks volumes of Karthik's abilities in the longest format of the game.

Dinesh Karthik has scored exactly 1000 runs in 23 Test matches, at an average of 27.78.