India's Test Squad vs Afghanistan- Ranji Trophy Top Performers Whom BCCI Overlooked

Deserving Players BCCI Ignored For India's Test Squad [Source: AFP]On May 19, the BCCI released the Test and ODI squads for the upcoming bilateral tour against Afghanistan. The one-off Test is scheduled at Mullanpur from June 6 to 10 and the selection committee have confirmed a 15-member unit.Firstly, Rishabh Pant has been sacked as vice-captain amid poor form as KL Rahul will be Shubman Gill’s deputy for this game. Also, Harsh Dubey and Gurnoor Brar received their maiden call ups after promising performances in domestic cricket.Manav Suthar and Devdutt Padikkal also made a comeback as BCCI opted to field a full-strength squad despite the Test not being a part of the WTC cycle.However, a few deserving players were surprisingly snubbed from this 15-member squad.India’s Test squad vs AFG: Shubman Gill (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (VC), Sai Sudharsan, Rishabh Pant, Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey, Dhruv JurelDeserving Players BCCI Ignored For India's Test Squad vs Afghanistan1. Auqib NabiCriterionSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableRanji Trophy 2025/26SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableFirst ClassSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableMatchesSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table10SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table41SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableInningsSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table17SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table67SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableWicketsSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table60SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table156SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableAverageSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table12.56SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table18.37SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableBest figuresSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table7/24SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table7/24SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table5-fersSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table7SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table16SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table(Auqib Nabi Ranji and FC stats)Fast bowling sensation from Jammu and Kashmir, Auqib Nabi was deemed as favourite to mark his Test debut against Afghanistan. However, he surprisingly didn’t even fit in the first 15-member team. Nabi rose to fame after he led J&K to its maiden Ranji Trophy victory in the 2025-26 season. He picked 60 wickets in 10 games at an average of 12.56. Not only that, the pacer won the Player of the Tournament award for his heroics.Also Read - Sanju Samson And...? Deserving Players Whom BCCI Ignored For India's ODI Squad vs AfghanistanSince India are resting some senior pacers and looking at younger players, many thought this was the perfect opportunity to reward Auqib Nabi. However, the selector ignored him and went with Gurnoor Brar instead. Earlier, reports suggested that BCCI are still not satisfied with the pace of Auqib Nabi which averages at around 130 kph.2. Mohammed ShamiCriterionSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableRanji Trophy 2025/26SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableFirst ClassSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableMatchesSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table7SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table97SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableInningsSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table13SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table183SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableWicketsSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table37SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table377SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableAverageSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table16.72SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table26.27SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableBest figuresSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table8/90SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table8/90SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table5-fersSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table3SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table15SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table(Shami Ranji and FC stats)One of India’s most successful seamers in modern-day cricket, Mohammed Shami has also missed out. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar claimed that Shami is fit to play only T20 cricket and hence didn’t appear in the discussions.However, his stats are contradictory. Shami featured in the last Ranji Trophy season for Bengal and picked 37 wickets in 13 innings. Not only that, the seamer has been playing domestic cricket regularly in all formats.Even in IPL, Mohammed Shami has bowled on full throttle without any injury issues. Yet, somehow, these stats proved to be not good enough for the BCCI.At this point, it won’t be wrong to assume that his snub from India’s Test squad vs Afghanistan is a clear indication that India have moved on from Shami in international cricket.3. Smaran RavichandranCriterionSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableRanji Trophy 2025/26SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableFirst ClassSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableMatchesSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd 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LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table6/4SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table(Smaran Ranji and FC stats)Another deserving batter who didn’t make the cut to India’s Test squad vs Afghanistan was Smaran Ravichandran. The Karanataka batter was the highest run-getter of the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season at 950 runs in 14 innings with an average of over 86, including four centuries.Owing to his supreme form, Karnataka made it to the finals. Moreover, Smaran has maintained an average of 73.04 in First Class cricket in just 26 innings. Naturally, Smaran Ravichandran was expected to be rewarded for his heroics. But unfortunately, the BCCI didn’t deem him a right fit as they went with Devdutt Padikkal instead, who also had a good run in the last Ranji season.Another reason could also be Ravichandran’s poor IPL start. In the 2026 season, he scored just 18 runs in 4 games.Also Read - KKR Receive Mixed Update On Varun Chakaravarthy, Matheesha Pathirana Ahead Of MI Clash