India vs Afghanistan Shubman Gill. Image Credits: AFP
Gujarat Titans, who narrowly missed out on the IPL 2026 title, scripted rare history as their players dominated the headlines during the one-off Test between India and Afghanistan held at the Mullanpur Stadium in Chandigarh.
India walked out to bat first against Afghanistan after winning the toss. Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul stitched a 41-run partnership before Jaiswal lost his wicket to Saleem Safi.
Later, Sai Sudharsan joined Rahul in the middle, and the duo also scored over 50 runs together for the second-wicket partnership.
GT players feature heavily in India’s Test lineup
Interestingly, when India revealed their playing XI for the one-off Test against Afghanistan, it consisted of 6 players who played for a single franchise, the Gujarat Titans, in the playing XI.
Captain Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and debutant Manav Suthar shared the same dressing room at GT during the IPL 2026 season.
This is the first time an Indian national team has fielded six players from the same IPL franchise in a Test match. Previously, there had been 42 instances of India fielding five players from the same IPL side.
34 times from CSK, 5 times from Delhi Capitals, 1 time each from RCB, Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans.
Needless to say, GT’s unprecedented representation in the Test XI against Afghanistan is another indicator of the franchise's growing footprint on Indian cricket.
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Fans allege favouritism by Shubman Gill
That being said, such records carry mixed reactions from the crowd. While some fans praised Gujarat Titans for grooming elite talent, a few accused captain Shubman Gill of favouritism.
Gill took over as India’s full-time Test captain in 2025, and since then, GT players like Sai Sudharsan and Manav Suthar have made their debuts. Not only that, Gill has the full backing of head coach Gautam Gambhir, which makes decision-making easier in the dressing room.
However, a few fans feel that the heavy influence of franchise leagues in red-ball cricket is unfair for those who grind hard in the domestic season and still fail to get a chance in the Test team.
Players such as Karun Nair, Abhimanyu Easwaran and Smaran Ravichandran failed to get backing despite scoring record runs in the Ranji Trophy. Hence, favouritism allegations continue to hover over Shubman Gill.
Manav Suthar debuts as India opt to bowl
Meanwhile, at Mullanpur, Shubman Gill won the toss and opted to bat first against Afghanistan. With temperatures expected to remain high throughout the contest, Gill felt batting first was the ideal option.
The biggest talking point at the toss was the Test debut of spin-bowling all-rounder Manav Suthar, who earned his maiden cap after an impressive domestic season. Suthar replaces veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who has been rested for the fixture.
For Afghanistan, the absence of Ibrahim Zadran is a notable setback. The visitors will rely heavily on experienced campaigners Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Azmatullah Omarzai as they look to challenge India in unfamiliar conditions.
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