After starring for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2026, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel are set to switch gears from T20 cricket to the longest format when India face Afghanistan in a one-off Test in New Chandigarh starting Friday.

Live streaming and telecast of the India vs Afghanistan 2026 Test match will be available to watch in India with daily coverage starting at 9:30 AM Indian Standard Time (IST) on all five days.

The match will be India's first Test assignment of 2026 and their first red-ball outing since the 2-0 series defeat to South Africa in November last year.

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel, included in the Indian cricket team squad, played key roles in the Royals’ run to Qualifier 2 in the recently-concluded edition of the Indian Premier League,

With 515 runs in 16 matches, Dhruv Jurel enjoyed his best-ever IPL campaign and was the Royals’ second-highest scorer in the tournament after Orange Cap winner Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

The wicketkeeper-batter scored six fifties, including his highest T20 score - an unbeaten 81 against champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru - over the course of the season.

Jaiswal, meanwhile, was RR’s third-highest scorer with 427 runs, including three fifties.

Since making his Test debut in 2023, Jaiswal has become one of India's most dependable batters in the longest format. The stylish left-handed opener has accumulated 2,511 runs in 28 Tests at an average of 49.23, including seven centuries and 13 fifties.

Dhruv Jurel has represented India in nine Tests and scored 459 runs at an average of 35.30, registering one century and one half-century.

The Test is not a part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle. Nevertheless, the fixture offers India a valuable opportunity to return to home conditions in red-ball cricket after difficult campaigns against New Zealand and South Africa, where they suffered series whitewashes.

Afghanistan, meanwhile, will face India in Test cricket for only the second time. The first meeting between the two nations in the format in 2018 was a historic occasion as it marked Afghanistan's maiden Test match.

India won the match played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru by an innings and 262 runs. Current RR all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja took six wickets in the match, including a fourfer in the second innings.

India vs Afghanistan head-to-head in Test cricket

Matches

India win

Afghanistan win

Draws

1

1

0

0

The Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh will also host its first-ever Test match during the series and become the 31st venue from the country to stage a men's Test match.

Where to watch India vs Afghanistan 2026 Test match live in India

Live streaming of the India vs Afghanistan Test 2026 will be available on the JioHotstar app and platform in India. The IND vs AFG Test match will also be telecast live on Star Sports Network TV channels in India.

IND vs AFG 2026 Test squad

India cricket team: Shubman Gill (captain), KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Rishabh Pant, Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Brar, Dhruv Jurel, Harsh Dubey

Afghanistan cricket team: Abdul Malik, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Afsar Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Azmatullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Nangeyalia Kharote, Qais Ahmad, Ziaur Rahman.