Manav Suthar is making his Test debut against Afghanistan. Credits: BCCI
As India look to bolster their spin stocks for the upcoming away series against Sri Lanka, they have handed a debut to Manav Suthar. He gets the nod ahead of Harsh Dubey for the one-off Test against Afghanistan.
Manav has 129 wickets at 25.76 runs apiece in 52 First Class innings, including six five-wicket and three ten-wicket hauls. Additionally, he has 945 runs at an average of 25.54 across 48 outings, with six fifties and a century.
Why Manav Suthar was preferred ahead of Harsh Dubey
By design, Manav Suthar and Harsh Dubey are left-arm spinners, but both offer different skills with the ball. Suthar mostly relies on bowling stock deliveries at a set pace around 90 km/h, with more overspin.
He puts more revolutions on his stock deliveries, which helps him get substantial turn at pace. This was also a notable feature of his bowling during IPL 2026, where Suthar played for Gujarat Titans.
He recorded the highest median turn (3.07°) and second-highest median drift (1.60°) among spinners with at least 30 balls. In Mullanpur, where the bounce seems to be inconsistent at times, Manav Suthar might bowl a few unplayable balls to a relatively weak Afghanistan batting unit.
Manav Suthar found ample turn and drift in IPL 2026
Meanwhile, Harsh Dubey relies more on pace and angle variations like a traditional red-ball spinner. He’s better suited to surfaces with more turn and remains an accurate operator, able to hit one length consistently.
He is also a better batter than Suthar, with an FC average of 25.65 and nine fifties. However, the temptation to have Suthar’s skills in Ravindra Jadeja’s absence remains understandable.
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On flatter IPL wickets, Manav Suthar extracted ample help from the surface and has a chance of building towards it further in Mullanpur. The red ball will turn more as this game moves on, especially since Afghanistan will bat second and fourth.
Suthar’s superior India A record
Another reason India opted for Manav Suthar ahead of Harsh Dubey is his better performances for India A. Overall, Suthar has 17 wickets across four First Class matches for India A, including an eight-wicket haul against Australia A.
He played only a solitary game against Australia A, but was still the joint-leading wicket-taker in the two-match rubber last year. Meanwhile, Harsh Dubey has just six wickets in three India A matches.
His domestic heroics didn’t quite replicate at a level above the Ranji Trophy. Dubey remains a formidable option, but India went with a better India A performer with recent form on his back.
Chance for Manav Suthar to seal his spot for Sri Lanka Tests
Clearly, India rate Manav Suthar higher than Harsh Dubey and have given him a first crack at sealing the fourth spinner spot for Sri Lanka Tests. With Axar Patel no longer in the scheme of things, Suthar has a golden chance to become a permanent player in red-ball format.
This Afghanistan series comes at the right time for him, since Ravindra Jadeja has been rested. Suthar remains a specialist left-arm finger spinner in the contest, and a decent show here will give management assurance to back him further.
In Sri Lanka, spin has played a massive role in recent years, with pitches designed to bring local spinners into play across formats. Since the start of previous WTC cycle, spinners bowl around 72% overs and snare 71.21% wickets in this country.
Sri Lanka have played on spinning tracks at home
India have shown ample issues on spinning tracks at home lately. So, they might be tested on such decks again.
Hence, India will pick a spin-heavy squad, with one of Suthar or Dubey likely being the second left-arm spinner with Ravindra Jadeja. On those pitches, Suthar’s ability to turn at pace could be lethal, particularly since he also gets a reasonable dip on his deliveries.
That will also be a build-up to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at home early next year. All in all, Manav Suthar has got a lucky nod ahead and must put on a show against Afghanistan to press his case ahead of a domestic giant, Harsh.
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