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The one-off Test between India and Afghanistan in New Chandigarh could signal the start of their red-ball summer but it is still a match that will not affect the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 standings.

The match, from June 6-10, at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, will technically be a Test match but points towards the WTC table won't be accrued.

The reason for this is straightforward; Afghanistan do not figure as one of the nine sides in this current World Test Championship cycle and therefore no match involving them has WTC points attached, irrespective of the outcome.

The match does provide an opportunity for India to return to the longest format of the game after several months on white-ball duty, but critically, it will also be a match played at a key stage of India's own WTC cycle.

Although no WTC points will be attributed to this fixture it is still an important match for India.

Captained by Shubman Gill, India will use this fixture as an opportunity to build themselves up towards a string of challenging championship fixtures at a later stage in the cycle. With nine WTC Tests still to play, they will face a stern array of opponents throughout their cycle and beyond.

India still have series to play against Sri Lanka and New Zealand before they face Australia in the eagerly anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, matches which will influence their route to the WTC final.

This fixture against Afghanistan represents an opportunity for India's players to spend some time in the middle and to begin to regain a rhythm in red-ball cricket that could see them find good form against some high-calibre opponents when it counts.

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The fixture holds as much importance for Afghanistan as it does for India. This will be only the second time the two countries have met in a Test match.

The first match between the two was in Bengaluru in 2018, an historic encounter in which Afghanistan played their first ever Test match. Eight years on from that, they are facing one of the best teams in the format once again.

For Afghanistan these kind of chances are few and far between. Playing India over 5 days gives their players an opportunity to develop and pit themselves against one of the best around.

Although there are no World Test Championship points to be had from the contest in New Chandigarh, there are rewards to be enjoyed for both teams; it gives India an opportunity to test their batting, and Afghanistan another opportunity to improve their Test cricket journey.