Who is Manav Suthar? Rajasthan all-rounder handed India Test cap against Afghanistan

A dream years in the making finally became reality for Manav Suthar on Saturday as the Rajasthan all-rounder received his maiden India Test cap ahead of the one-off Test against Afghanistan at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur. In a special moment during the pre-match presentation, senior spinner Kuldeep Yadav handed the coveted Test cap, officially welcoming him into India's Test fraternity.

Manav Suthar is a 23-year-old rising Indian cricketer who plays as a bowling all-rounder. A traditional slow left-arm orthodox spinner and handy lower-order batsman, Suthar represents Rajasthan in domestic cricket and is part of the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL). For Suthar, the occasion marks the culmination of a remarkable rise from the border town of Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan to the highest level of international cricket. The left-arm spinning all-rounder has long been viewed as one of India's brightest red-ball prospects. With Ravindra Jadeja being rested for the Afghanistan Test, selectors have used the opportunity to hand Suthar his debut as they continue to assess India's next generation of spin-bowling all-rounders. Suthar earned his maiden Test call-up following a string of outstanding performances in domestic cricket and for India A. He first grabbed national attention during the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy season, finishing as Rajasthan's leading wicket-taker with 39 wickets in just six matches. Suthar enters international cricket with an impressive first-class record of 129 wickets and 945 runs from 29 matches. He has been a stellar performer for India 'A'. He finished as the joint-highest wicket-taker during the unofficial Test series against Australia 'A' (which included a standout 5/107 haul) and excelled in the 2023 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup.

India won the toss and captain Shubman Gill decided to bat first in the Mullanpur against Afghanistan. Here's the playing XI for the one off-test match: India (Playing XI): KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Manav Suthar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna Afghanistan (Playing XI): Sediqullah Atal, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Abdul Malik, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Afsar Zazai(w), Azmatullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Nangeyalia Kharote, Ziaur Rahman Sharifi, Mohammad Saleem Safi