India's predicted playing XI for one-off Test against Afghanistan

The BCCI last month announced the India squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan. There were a few surprising omissions with Shreyas Iyer not finding a place in the squad.

In the absence of Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane will lead the side. Pace spearheads Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah have been rested hence it will be interesting to see who gets to play in their place.

Here is how India could line up in the Test:

Openers

Murali Vijay, when fit, walks into the Indian Test side. Vijay had a great series against Sri Lanka but had no answer to the seaming, bouncy wickets on offer in South Africa. He has hardly featured in the IPL this season and will need some game time ahead of the testing series against England later this year.

The other opening slot is a toss-up between KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan but Rahul has been in scintillating form in the IPL and should make the cut, unless India really need a left-right combination at the top, which is unlikely.

Rahul struggled in the South Africa series when given the opportunity but against a much weaker bowling line-up, he will be licking his lips at the prospect of getting back into form in the whites.

Middle order

Cheteshwar Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara, India's rock in the middle order, too had a poor outing in South Africa but returned home and found form in the domestic circuit for Saurashtra. He is currently playing for Yorkshire in the County Championship.

Pujara will be India's best bet to tackle the wily Rashid Khan.

With Virat Kohli rested for the Test against Afghanistan, Karun Nair is expected to return to the side. Nair is one of two Indians to have struck a triple century in Test cricket, but in a side filled with talent, has remained the first choice replacement rather than an integral part of the team.

Ajinkya Rahane will captain the side in Virat Kohli's absence. Rahane received a lot of criticism for the way he led the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, and he will be looking to set the record straight when he leads the troops in the historic Test match.

Wicketkeeper and all-rounders

The fact that Dinesh Karthik was yet again overlooked despite stellar performances in the IPL came as a surprise, but Wriddhiman Saha's injury gave him the opening and he was named as Saha's replacement. Karthik will be looking to put in a solid shift and stake his claim for a permanent spot.

Hardik Pandya started the series against South Africa in fine fashion and was expected to be India's trump card but he faded away badly. Pandya struggles against the quick swinging ball and the Afghan pacers could cause him some problems.

However, if he gets set, he can take the game away from the opponents in a session.

Spinners

Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin has reinvented himself and added a lot of variety to his game, including the leg-break which he has used with some success in the IPL. Ashwin bowled well in South Africa in not very spin-friendly conditions and will look to spin webs around the Afghanistan batsmen, who will be playing in their first ever Test match.

Ravindra Jadeja is not a part of India's limited-overs teams anymore and with the likes of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal delivering stellar performances, time is running out for him to prove his worth in Tests as well. His batting has declined in the past couple of years and he needs a big performance to remain in contention in the future.

Pacers

Ishant Sharma

With the spearhead of the Indian pace attack, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, rested, Ishant Sharma will be India's frontline pacer. Against a team not so equipped to handle the pace and bounce he has to offer, Ishant will be expected to run riot.

He had a fairly decent series against South Africa last time around and also enjoyed a good run of form for Sussex in the County Championship.

Mohammed Shami was ruled out of the game after failing the fitness test and Navdeep Saini was roped in as his replacement. However, Saini is unlikely to feature which means Umesh Yadav should get the nod. Umesh had a fantastic IPL season for RCB and will look to carry that form into the whites for India as well.