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.
Openers
Murali Vijay
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
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.