Afghanistan is set to become the 12th nation to play Test cricket as skipper Asghar Stanikzai opted for a spin-heavy playing XI at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium here.
For the hosts sans regular skipper Virat Kohli wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik made a comeback to the Test side after almost eight years.
India: Shikhar Dhawan Murali Vijay Cheteshwar Pujara Ajinkya Rahane(c) Lokesh Rahul Dinesh Karthik(wk) Hardik Pandya Ravichandran Ashwin Ravindra Jadeja Ishant Sharma Umesh Yadav.
Afghanistan: Mohammad Shahzad Javed Ahmadi Rahmat Shah Asghar Stanikzai(c) Afsar Zazai(w) Mohammad Nabi Hashmatullah Shahidi Rashid Khan Mujeeb Ur Rahman Yamin Ahmadzai Wafadar.
--IANS tri/ksk
