India cricket team assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate has dropped a hint on what could be the team’s combination for the one-off Test against Afghanistan which is scheduled to commence from May 6 in Mullanpur. The game marks India’s first Test in 2026 as Shubman Gill and co. eye to return to the right track in their World Test Championship (WTC 2025/27) campaign after losing 0-2 to South Africa in the previous series. Doeschate has spoken about who could be India’s number 3 for the game, apart from addressing the pace-spin combo for the contest in New Chandigarh.
Sai Sudharsan vs Devdutt Padikkal for number 3 spot
Speaking at the pre-match press conference on Thursday, the India assistant coach delivered his verdict on who among Padikkal and Sudharsan will occupy the number 3 spot without giving away much information. Sai Su made his Test debut in 2025 in the series against England, where he was entrusted the role of the number 3 batter. In the 6 games that he featured in that year, he scored 302 runs only, at an average of 27.45, which included just two half-centuries in 11 innings.
In his last Test outing against South Africa, he scored 15 and 14 runs in two innings. Despite managing to record yet another 700-run season in the IPL for the 2nd consecutive time in IPL 2026, Sudharsan has not lived up to the expectations when it comes to the red-ball format of the game, especially for Team India.
“There’s been lot of changes in that spot and that is not ideal. Padikkal comes with ton of runs and Sudharsan had a good IPL. We want to take a decision and trust that person to grow into that role,” Ten Doeschate said.
Image Credit: Alfie Cosgrove/News Images via AlamyPadikkal, on the other hand, last featured in a Test in 2024. He has featured in just 2 red-ball format matches for India so far, and has scored 90 runs at an average of 30. However, the Karnataka batter has been phenomenal with the bat in the domestic and IPL circuit over the years, thereby allowing the selectors to place faith in him to execute the role of the number 3 batter to perfection. With 3627 runs from 54 first-class matches, Padikkal is more experienced when it comes to red-ball cricket in comparison to Sai Sudharsan (2591 runs from 35 matches). Therefore, it won’t come as a surprise if the selectors opt for DDP over Sai Su as India’s number 3 for the one-off Test against Afghanistan.
Kuldeep Yadav confirmed to play
The selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, have named Kuldeep Yadav as the lone specialist spinner in the squad. Now, Ryan ten Doeschate has revealed that India will be looking to play two seamers, a spinner and two spin all-rounders in the one-off Test against Afghanistan. Yadav, who featured in just 4 out of the 9 Tests that India last played, has been used irregularly. In 2025, he picked up 20 wickets in 8 innings, while his overall tally in Tests is 76 wickets from 17 matches.
“I would imagine we play two seamers, and a spinner with two spin-allrounders if you consider that the two guys we brought in can bat a little bit as well. We certainly want to start preparing for the road ahead. It’s going to be nine crucial Test matches in the WTC cycle, and sort of our last stab at making that final which is top of priority at the moment. So, I think if you look forward to where we’ve got to play, who we’ve got to play against, we’re probably going to look to set up the team more with that in mind, and that would suggest three spinners,” ten Doeschate said.
Credit: AP Photo/Manish Swarup via AlamyWhat will be India’s bowling line-up?
As per Ryan Ten Doeschate, India will be aiming to field two seamers, one spinner and two spin all-rounders. This will mean that while Prasidh Krishna is sure to play, a call will be taken on Mohammed Siraj’s participation in the one-off Test against Afghanistan. While, the India assistant coach confirmed that Siraj bowled perfectly fine in the nets, reports had earlier suggested that the team management will take a call on his workload management shortly. If he should be rested, then Gurnoor Brar could take his place in the XI, while Auqib Nabi – who is a net bowler at present – is another choice.
Kuldeep will serve as the specialist spinner. Meanwhile, it will be a toss-up between Harsh Dubey and Manav Suthar to determine who will be the second all-rounder to pair with Washington Sundar. Both the all-rounders have been exceptional in the domestic circuit over the last couple of years, Both Dubey and Suthar earned their maiden India call-up for the one-off Test against Afghanistan.
Suthar has 129 wickets and 945 runs from 29 first-class matches while Dubey has 133 wickets and 1026 runs from 27 FC matches. It will be interesting to see whom the Indian selectors will pick from the duo for a contest that isn’t a part of the WTC 2025/27 cycle.
Selection questions for IND vs AFG Test: Padikkal in, Sudharsan out, debut for Dubey-Suthar? Inside Sport India.
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