Missed one-off Test but Gurnoor Brar and Harsh Dubey make ODI debuts in Dharamsala

They may have missed out on their debut for India in Test cricket, but fast bowler Gurnoor Brar and left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey got their first ODI caps during the series opener against Afghanistan on Saturday 13 June. They had to wait a bit longer on the day of the match as the rain almost played spoilsport, allowing only a shortened game of 25-overs on the thesalas-perce-side.

Gurnoor Brar received the cap from his good friend and Punjab teammate Shubman Gill while KL Rahul handed Harsh Dubey his first ODI cap.

IND vs AFG 1st ODI: Update | Scorecard

Shubman Gill won the toss and opted to bowl in the ODI series opener, which also marked the return of Rohit Sharma.

India dropped spinner Kuldeep Yadav to make way for Harsh Dubey and Washington Sundar, while Gurnoor Brar joined Prasidh Krishna and Arshdeep Singh as pacers in the frontline. Nitish Kumar Reddy emerged as a fast bowling all-rounder, replacing the injured Hardik Pandya.

In the absence of Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan was given the opportunity at No.3 and donned the wicketkeeping gloves ahead of KL Rahul. Screengrab by BCCI/X

WHO IS GURNOOR BRAR

He stood at an imposing six feet five inches, Punjabi Gurnoor Brar brings a raw, intimidating physicality to India’s pace corridors. Interestingly, the 26-year-old was a late bloomer who preferred football and tennis before an informal examination in the 11th standard, prompted solely by his soaring height, diverted him to the bowling alley. He soon caught the eye of team-mate Shubman Gill in the under-19 nets and fast-tracked his progression into Punjab’s senior white-ball and Ranji Trophy squad.

What makes Brar an incredibly enticing prospect for the national team is his rare ability to consistently hit 140km/h while generating a steep, unnatural bounce off the heaviest lengths of flat decks. After a highly productive 2024/25 Ranji season where he picked up 26 wickets followed by dynamic white-ball innings in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he earned an IPL stint with Gujarat Titans. Although he spent the 2026 season on the sidelines, Brar used the time strictly to absorb the masterclasses of international quicks Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada.

GAVASKAR praises the selectors

Speaking to TV stations, the great Sunil Gavaskar praised the selection committee for going above and beyond the numbers in selecting cricketers who they feel have potential.

A lot of eyebrows were raised when Gill was named in both the Test and ODI squads for the Afghanistan series, but the 26-year-old has played plenty of domestic and cricket matches for India A in the recent past.

“A lot of people had not heard of him when they picked him. One thing we have to understand is that selectors watch a lot of matches. If we were to go by runs scored or wickets only, then we could have bowlers as selectors,” Gavaskar said.

“The selection committee sees that little spark that the scorecards don’t always reveal.”

WHO IS HARSH DUBEY

Hailing from Vidarbha, 23-year-old Harsh Dubey capped a meteoric rise through India’s domestic ranks to earn his maiden ODI cap against Afghanistan in Dharamshala. A highly experienced orthodox left-arm spinner and a more than capable left-handed lower-order batsman, Dubey has forced his way into the national reckoning on the back of an extraordinary 2024/25 Ranji Trophy campaign. He scripted domestic history by taking 69 wickets – the highest haul in a single Ranji season – to lead Vidarbha to a glorious title.

Harsh played two IPL seasons for SunRisers Hyderabad and took a total of 13 wickets in 11 matches.

TEAM NEWS

Meanwhile, Afghanistan have fielded three players and got Rashid Khan, who missed the one-off Test, to lead their bowling line-up.

INDIA PLAYING XI: Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (Goalkeeper), Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Gurnoor Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna.

AFGHANISTAN PLAYING XI: Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Goalkeeper), Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (Captain), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Saleem Safi, AM Ghazanfar, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi

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Issued by:

Akshay Ramesh

Published on:

13 Jun 2026 17:23 IST