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The one-off Test between India and Afghanistan in New Chandigarh has created history on Saturday, June 6. The Shubman Gill-led Indian national cricket team begins their new Test season with a historic moment at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium.
India handed the debut cap to Manav Suthar in the ongoing one-off Test against the Afghanistan National Cricket Team on Saturday, and with this, the IPL has once again made the headline.
India’s new Test season begins with historic record against Afghanistan
Shubman Gill and the Indian team management have included six players from the Gujarat Titans team in the playing XI against Afghanistan. The playing XI features Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and Sai Kishore.
And this is for the first time in Indian cricket history that six players from the same IPL franchise were named in the Test playing XI. This is a rare achievement, as never before has an IPL franchise had six players representing India together in a Test match.
Before the ongoing India vs Afghanistan one-off Test, there had been 42 occasions when five players from the same IPL team featured in India’s playing XI. Chennai Super Kings dominated that list with 34 such instances. Delhi Capitals had achieved it five times, while Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Mumbai Indians, and Gujarat Titans had done it once each.
This is the first time Indian national team is having 6 players from the same IPL team – Sudharsan, Gill, Washington, Suthar, Siraj, Prasidh
There have been 42 matches with 5 players from same IPL team (34 CSK, 5 DC, 1 RCB, 1 MI, 1 GT)
— Krishna Kumar (@KrishnaKRM) June 6, 2026
Manav Suthar’s debut adds another IPL success story
Now, Gujarat Titans have become the first IPL franchise ever to have six players in India’s Test team at the same time. The achievement also reflects how several Gujarat Titans players have grown into key members of the Indian cricket team.
The historic match began on June 6 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh. It is a one-off Test between India and Afghanistan and has attracted plenty of attention from cricket fans across both countries.
However, this Test match is not part of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, as Afghanistan is not included in the current WTC competition.
KL Rahul and Sai Sudharsan hit fifties against Afghanistan
Meanwhile, KL Rahul and Sai Sudharsan took control of the innings against Afghanistan after the lunch break on Day 1. The duo shifted gears after a steady first session. Both batters reached their half-centuries in the post-lunch session and kept the scoreboard moving with positive stroke play.
Earlier in the day, India got off to a solid start after winning the toss and choosing to bat. Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul looked comfortable from the start and showed good intent. They respected the good deliveries but did not miss any opportunity to punish loose balls.
However, Jaiswal was dismissed for 24 runs off 32 balls. The left-hander tried to deal with a short-of-length delivery from Mohammad Saleem Safi but got an inside edge, and the wicketkeeper completed a simple catch. Jaiswal looked disappointed as he made his way back to the pavilion after getting a promising start.
