For Manav Suthar, Test format is the “pinnacle” of cricket, and the India left-arm spinner revealed that he was practising with red-ball even during IPL 2026 to stay on top of his game.

The 23-year-old Suthar made a strong impression on his maiden outing, returning 6/33 and 1/29 along with a brisk knock to set up a heavy innings and 300-run victory over Afghanistan in their only Test here.

“From the very first day I started playing and as I progressed through the ranks, red-ball cricket meant everything to me,” Suthar told JioHotstar.

“It is the pinnacle of the sport. So, whether I was playing U-19 cricket or the Ranji Trophy, the goal was always to play Test cricket for India. Kuldeep (Yadav) bhai’s speech while presenting me with the cap was very motivating. Everyone encouraged and motivated me a lot, so it felt really special.

“Gautam (Gambhir) sir and the skipper (Shubman Gill) informed me that I would be making my debut. It was a very proud moment because, ever since I started playing, it had been my dream, my father’s dream, and everyone’s dream for me to play Test cricket for India,” Suthar added.

Suthar, who played for Gujarat Titans in this year’s IPL, said he wanted to be ready for the opportunity of playing Test cricket and practiced with the red ball during the league.

“When my name came up in the team, I was practising with the red ball during the IPL as well, thinking about how I would approach things if given the opportunity,” he said.

“After coming here (Mullanpur), I had three or four long practice sessions. With bowling, it’s not really about how many hours you put in. If you enjoy bowling, you can bowl 20-25 overs without even realising it so the key is to keep bowling as much as you can.” Suthar said he did not want to get carried away even as the pitch offered assistance while bowling his stock delivery.

“When they were bowling, a few deliveries were turning. When I was batting, the odd ball was holding up so I felt there might be some assistance for the spinners on that track. As soon as I bowled my first over, the ball was turning, so I tried to bowl my stock ball as much as possible on that wicket,” he said.

“I didn’t want to get carried away, but my focus was on consistently putting the ball in the right area. Since the beginning, I have focused on spot-bowling, and whatever consistency I have today is because of that,” Suthar added.

Debutant left-arm spinner Manav Suthar marked his arrival in Test cricket with a six-wicket haul as India bundled out Afghanistan for 152 in their first innings and enforced the follow-on before lunch on Day 3 of the one-off Test at the PCA Stadium on Monday (June 8, 2026).

Resuming at 113/5 and still trailing India’s imposing first-innings total of 564/8 (declared) by 451 runs, Afghanistan needed a substantial partnership from overnight batter Rahmat Shah to avoid a complete collapse. But Suthar’s ability to extract turn from the surface ensured India tightened their grip on the contest.

The morning began positively for India when Prasidh Krishna struck in the fifth over of the day. Azmatullah Omarzai, who had faced 10 deliveries without scoring, was bowled attempting a drive, leaving Afghanistan at 118/6 and exposing the lower order.

Rahmat, however, continued to fight a lone battle. The right-hander became the first Afghanistan batter to register a Test fifty against India, bringing up the landmark with a boundary off Prasidh. Having already become Afghanistan’s first player to cross 1,000 Test runs on Day 2, Rahmat once again showcased his resilience amid the ruins.

He found brief support from Sharafuddin Ashraf, who battled through a visible quad injury and added 24 runs for the seventh wicket. The pair frustrated India for a period, with Rahmat unfurling a few crisp drives and Ashraf showing commendable determination despite struggling to run between the wickets.

Just when Afghanistan appeared to be stabilising, Suthar returned to break the stand. Ashraf, attempting an ambitious slog, edged behind to Rishabh Pant, with India successfully overturning the on-field decision through a review. The breakthrough opened the floodgates.

Suthar then produced the moment of the innings when he castled Rahmat for 60 with a beautifully flighted delivery that dipped, turned and crashed into the stumps as the batter attempted a sweep. The wicket brought up the spinner’s maiden five-wicket haul in Test cricket and effectively ended Afghanistan’s resistance.

The debutant was not done yet. He trapped Mohammad Saleem Safi lbw and finished with outstanding figures of 6/33 from 22 overs, becoming only the 10th Indian and seventh spinner from the country to claim a five-wicket haul on Test debut.

Washington Sundar wrapped up the innings when Ziaur Rahman Sharifi holed out to Pant, leaving Afghanistan all out for 152 in 58.4 overs. Rahmat’s 60 was the only substantial score as Afghanistan lost their last five wickets for just 36 runs.

With a lead of 412 runs, India had little hesitation in enforcing the follow-on, handing Suthar another opportunity to add to a memorable performance on debut.

Scoreboard

India 1st Innings: 564/8 declared

Afghanistan 1st Innings: Abdul Malik c Mohammed Siraj b Manav Suthar 16 Sediqullah Atal b Prasidh Krishna 17 Rahmanullah Gurbaz c Sai Sudharsan b Manav Suthar 12 Rahmat Shah b Manav Suthar 60 Hashmatullah Shahidi lbw b Prasidh Krishna 20 Afsar Zazai c & b Manav Suthar 3 Azmatullah Omarzai b Prasidh Krishna 0 Sharafuddin Ashraf c Pant b Manav Suthar 11 Nangeyalia Kharote not out 4 Mohammad Saleem lbw b Manav Suthar 0 Ziaur Rahman c Pant b Washington Sundar 6 Extras: (nb-2, w-1) 3

Total: 152 all out in 58.4 overs

Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-40, 3-62, 4-98, 5-113, 6-118, 7-142, 8-143, 9-143.

India bowling: Mohammed Siraj 9-2-29-0, Prasidh Krishna 11-2-37-3, Manav Suthar 22-10-33-6, Kuldeep Yadav 10-1-32-0, Washington Sundar 6.4-1-21-1

Rishabh Pant answered his critics in the best possible manner with a stroke-filled 81 as India were on course for a mammoth first innings score, reaching 475 for 6 against Afghanistan at lunch on the second day of the one-off Test, in Mullanpur on Sunday (June 7, 2026).

In-front of a sparse Sunday (June 7, 2026) crowd, Pant did play his signature strokes but also curbed his natural instinct to go after each delivery, treating each ball on its merit during his 121-ball knock that had six boundaries and three sixes.

He should have completed his century but debutant left-arm spinner Nangeyalia Kharote, who suddenly slowed the pace considerably. Pant charged down the track but couldn’t fully reach to the pitch of the delivery as the lofted hit ballooned up for a simple catch.

For Afghanistan, their IPL star Azmatullah Omarzai was distinctly unlucky. He was very impressive with the second new ball, beating the bat on a number of occasions without much luck.

In the first hour of second morning, Shubman Gill (126 off 177 balls) was dismissed by Mohammad Saleem (4/109 in 20 overs), who bowled a beauty to get rid of Indian skipper.

It was pitched on fuller length on off-stump channel drawing Gill forward and then there was a hint of outward movement taking the edge of his bat ending a 169-run stand.

Dhruv Jurel played a few beautiful shots square of the wicket but Saleem got one to reverse as Jurel decided to leave the ball on length only to find his off-stump pegged back.

However one dismissal that left the crowd high and dry was Pant’s as they were expecting some more fireworks from him once the spinners came into operation.

Going into the lunch break, Washington Sundar (14 batting) and debutant Manav Suthar (9 batting) were at the crease.

Scoreboard

India 1st innings: Yashasvi Jaiswal c Afsar Zazai b Mohammad Saleem 24 KL Rahul c Rahmanullah Gurbaz b Ziaur Rahman 100 Sai Sudharsan c Afsar Zazai b Mohammad Saleem 81 Shubman Gill c Afsar Zazai b Mohammad Saleem 126 Rishabh Pant c Azmatullah Omarzai b Hashmatullah Shahidi 81 Dhruv Jurel b Mohammad Saleem 19 Washington Sundar batting 14 Manav Suthar batting 9 Extras: (B-4 LB-12 NB-4 W-1) 21

Total: (For 6 wickets in 110 overs) 475

Fall of wickets: 1/41 2/180 3/247 4/416 5/452 6/456

Afghanistan bowling: Ziaur Rahman 22-2-87-1, Azmatullah Omarzai 19-4-54-0, Mohammad Saleem 20-2-109-4, Nangeyalia Kharote 21-0-96-0, Abdul Malik 7-0-43-0, Hashmatullah Shahidi 21-1-70-1.

India skipper Shubman Gill won the toss and opted to bat in the one-off Test against Afghanistan in Mullanpur on Saturday (June 6, 2026).

India handed debut to left-arm spinner Manav Suthar, who has played 29 first-class matches for Rajasthan. He has 129 wickets from those matches.

This will be Gill’s first Test as captain on his home turf, Punjab.

Afghanistan also handed Test cap to 22-year-old left-arm spinner Nangeyalia Kharote.

Teams:

India: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (capt), Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Manav Suthar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.

Afghanistan: Sediqullah Atal, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Abdul Malik , Rahat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Afsar Zazai (wk), Azmatullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Nangeyalia Kharote, Ziaur Rahman, Mohammad Saleem.

India head coach Gautam Gambhir has backed the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) trial to switch from a red ball to a pink ball during a Test in the case of bad light affecting play. The agreement of both teams before a Test is required for the change to be effected.

The decision was one of the recommendations of the Chief Executives Committee that was approved by the ICC Board at a meeting in Ahmedabad last Sunday. India has so far played five Tests with the pink ball, which is used exclusively for day-night matches.

With making the World Test Championship final being a big incentive in the five-day game, Gambhir said he wouldn’t want his team to be deprived of that opportunity owing to bad light.

“I love that. I’ve always believed that if there’s an opportunity to get a result, you should always have that opportunity,” Gambhir said. “Imagine if you’re playing the last Test before the WTC final and you have the chance to win that Test and qualify, but because of bad light it’s not happening. I know it could be a little difficult for the players. But it’s a proactive move. And hopefully the teams will start taking it in a positive way.”

India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Friday (June 5, 2026) said Sai Sudharsan has not got a fair run at the No.3 slot and indicated that the left-hander will be preferred over Devdutt Padikkal in the Test format ahead of the one-off game against Afghanistan in Mullanpur.

Gambhir also stated that the team will prepare four spinners for the tour of Sri Lanka in August.

India will take on Afghanistan in a one-off Test starting in Mullanpur on Saturday (June 6, 2026)which is not a part of the current World Test Championship cycle, in which the home side is currently placed sixth.

“Sai Sudharsan has not got a fair chance. He played mostly in England and I believe he needs to get a fair chance,” Gambhir told the reporters in Mullanpur.

“We can (only) pick 11 (players) and Sai isn’t in bad form. He scored 700 runs in IPL. If we judge Sai on basis of 4-5 games we will never be able to build something,” he added.

With Manav Suthar and Harsh Dubey are aiming for one spot as a left-arm spinner, Gambhir said India will need to prepare multiple spin bowling options for the two-Test series in Sri Lanka.

“Manav and Harsh are to a certain extent similar but different also in terms of release points. This match gives us a chance to determine our fourth spinner as we will take four spinners in Sri Lanka,” he said.

“We will need to prepare differently when we go to New Zealand. So, we will pull out a few ODI regulars who play Tests. We understand we need to prepare better for Tests,” Gambhir added.

Addressing Rishabh Pant’s removal as Test vice-captain, Gambhir said the batter has his backing but needs to read the game situation better.

“We don’t want Rishabh Pant to change but international cricket demands players to respect match situations,” Gambhir said.

Flamboyant wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant was on Tuesday (May 19, 2026) removed as vice-captain of the Indian Test squad for the upcoming one-off match against Afghanistan and dropped from the ODI line-up for the ensuing three-match series against the same opponents.

K.L. Rahul replaced Pant as the vice-captain of the Indian Test team that is being led by Shubman Gill. Senior all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been rested from the Test match.

The Ajit Agarkar-led BCCI senior men’s selection committee met in Guwahati to finalise India’s squads for the home assignment against Afghanistan. The assignments include a one-off Test in Mullanpur starting June 6, followed by three ODIs scheduled from June 14 across Dharamsala, Lucknow, and Chennai.

Spin bowler Manav Suthar and pacer Gurnoor Brar have earned maiden call-ups to the Test squad. Both are teammates at IPL franchise Gujarat Titans, while Prince Yadav is the new face in the ODI line-up, with Ishan Kishan being the second wicket-keeper.

India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was rested from one-off Test and ODI series against Afghanistan as part of his workload management.