Switch from T20 to Test is the challenge for Afghan spin trio

makes it very difficult for the batsman to adjust if he misreads the length. Robin Uthappa is one of the rare batsmen who has got a very good record against Rashid, and he claims to play him like an off-spinner. Perhaps, that’s what the Indian batsmen might have to do in Bangalore.

MUJEEB UR RAHMAN

He’s the new mystery bowler in town who’s also shown good control. Often he bowls with the new ball in the powerplay overs of a T20 game and he’s rarely expensive. He’s got two key variations — a front of the hand carrom ball that goes away from the righthanded batsmen and a back of the hand googly that turns in after pitching. Besides the positioning of the hand at the point of release, the key difference between the two is also the speed of the ball. The faster ones are carrom balls and the slower ones are almost always the googlies. It’ll be interesting if he’s able to bowl long spells without bowling boundary balls in Test cricket, for unlike T20, it’s almost impossible to pack both sides of the pitch in a Test.

MOHAMMAD NABI

His style of off-break is a throwback to the years gone by. He’s got a clean action and he relies on the traditional drift and dip to beat the batsman in the air. He doesn’t have a doosra or a carrom ball and his only variation is the arm ball that holds its line and goes away from righthanded batsmen, and is delivered a little faster and flatter. He’s the most experienced firstclass cricketer in the team and is equipped with patience to set up dismissals by bowling quiet overs. If the pitch helps spin, he might be a tough proposition.