The rivalry is rooted in sports diplomacy rather than political tension. Recognizing Afghanistan's security challenges, the BCCI provided them with training bases in Greater Noida, Dehradun, and Lucknow. This mentorship culminated in June 2018, when India hosted Afghanistan’s historic first-ever Test match in Bengaluru. India won in two days, but famously invited the Afghan team to pose with the winner's trophy. The upcoming Afghanistan tour of India 2026 is a highly anticipated multi-format bilateral series scheduled to run from June 6 to June 20, 2026. Following the conclusion of the IPL, this series marks the opening of India’s home international season and features a historic one-off Test match followed by a three-match ODI series.

India vs Afghanistan - Series Match Details

Tournament: Afghanistan tour of India 2026

Formats: 1 Test, 3 ODIs

Timeline: 6 June – 20 June 2026

Venues: New Chandigarh, Dharamshala, Lucknow, Chennai

Role

India Squad

Afghanistan Core Pool

Captain

Shubman Gill

Rashid Khan / Hashmatullah Shahidi

Batters

Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Sai Sudharsan

Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hazratullah Zazai, Sediqullah Atal, Najibullah Zadran

All-Rounders

Hardik Pandya, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar

Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Karim Janat

Wicketkeepers

KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, Dhruv Jurel

Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ikram Alikhil

Bowlers

Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Manav Suthar, Harsh Dubey

Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Allah Ghazanfar, Qais Ahmad

India vs Afghanistan Head-to-Head Record Timeline

Format

Matches

IND Won

AFG Won

Tied

No Result

Test

1

1

0

0

0

ODI

4

3

0

1

0

T20I

5

4

0

    

Notable Records and Highlights

Test Matches:

  1. India completely dominated their sole Test match encounter against Afghanistan in 2018, winning by an innings and 262 runs.

  2. Afghanistan is scheduled to play its second-ever historic Test match against India on 6 June 2026 at New Chandigarh.

ODI Matches:

  1. The Dramatic Tie: Their iconic 2018 Asia Cup encounter ended in a historic tie after both teams scored exactly 252 runs.

  2. World Cup Dominance: India has defeated Afghanistan in both of their ODI World Cup meetings (2019 and 2023).

T20I Matches:

  1. Highest Team Total: India holds the record for the highest team total in this rivalry, posting 212/2 during the 2022 Asia Cup.

  2. Individual Brilliance: Virat Kohli smashed his legendary 122 off 61 balls* against Afghanistan during the 2022 Asia Cup tournament.