India will return to Test cricket action when they face off against Afghanistan in the one-off Test at Mullanpur. While India have fielded a full strength side, the match will not be part of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27. As a result, neither team will earn WTC points from the match despite it carrying official Test status.

India will return to Test cricket action when they face off against Afghanistan in the one-off Test at Mullanpur. While India have fielded a full strength side, the match will not be part of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27. As a result, neither team will earn WTC points from the match despite it carrying official Test status.

A game against Afghanistan at home would have been a great opportunity for Shubman Gill & Co to add some World Test Championship points to their kitty. The Men in Blue lost 2-0 to South Africa and are in danger of missing out on a spot in the WTC 2025-27 Final.

One of the main reasons for the exclusion is that Afghanistan is not among the nine teams competing in the current WTC cycle. The 2025-27 edition features only top 9 test playing natons - India, Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the West Indies.

Although Afghanistan is a Full Member nation with Test status, it remains outside the championship structure alongside Ireland and Zimbabwe. Therefore, any Test involving Afghanistan is classified as a bilateral fixture rather than a WTC match.