From Bengaluru to Mullanpur: Eight years on, a familiar story for Afghanistan

Afghanistan's innings-and-300-run defeat to India in Mullanpur ended inside three days, with the visitors outplayed in every department. India piled up 564 for 8 declared, while Afghanistan's batters struggled to build partnerships and bowlers couldn't sustain pressure.

For head coach Richard Pybus, the root cause was clear:

"I think we were just incredibly rusty. We haven't played a Test match for seven months. We were rusty, we showed our naivety and there's plenty of work to be done."

Afghanistan's Test match gaps since 2018

Afghanistan and Ireland entered Test cricket in 2018. Eight years on, both have played only 13 Tests each — Afghanistan winning four, losing eight; Ireland winning three, losing ten. No side has played more than four Tests in a calendar year.

Pybus pointed to the structural issue:

"You can play as much red-ball cricket at home domestically and there aren't that many first-class sides. There are some structural questions. What is our commitment to Test cricket? Every side historically needs fixtures to play."

The white-ball comparison is instructive. Afghanistan transformed into a competitive limited-overs side through regular fixtures, elite opposition, and repeated exposure. Pybus believes the same applies to Tests: "The only way to develop is through a lot of fixtures."

He also found some positives: "There have been periods where we've applied pressure. There's lots of talent and potential but it needs to be developed."

When Afghanistan's Test journey began in Bengaluru in 2018, they lost to India by an innings and 262 runs. Eight years later — with only KL Rahul, Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi remaining from those XIs — the margin was even heavier: an innings and 300 runs.

The personnel changed. The broader challenge remains the same.