Only time will tell how Afghanistan perform in the Test format, says Lalchand Rajput

Afghanistan took on India in their debut first Test match today at Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore with the likes of Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane all featuring for the home team in the absence of skipper Virat Kohli. Afghanistan were led by skipper Asghar Stanikzai with the wrist spinning talents of Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman also part of the squad.

Former Afghanistan head coach Lalchand Rajput revealed that the Afghanistan team needed some time on the big stage before they can be judged on the basis of their performance. 

"It is a historic test match and an emotional moment for the Afghanistan players. People and supporters of the Afghanistan team were looking forward to this great event. I am really happy for them, we really worked hard to get to this position, and hopefully they carry forward the hard-work.

"See, shorter format they have done exceptionally well and they have to deal with the longer format and so time will tell (whether they are successful. Rashid is one bowler, who can adjust (to the longer format), but test match is a different ball game," 56-year-old Rajput told PTI sources.

Rajput also spoke about KXIP recruit Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman who had a successful stint in the shorter format this season. But Rajput believed only time will tell if the youngster could replicate that success in the longer version of the game as well.

"Mujeeb has just come in, he had a successful IPL. The batsmen will take their own time to play and the main thing is that a bowler has to keep patience, bowl a lot of spells and that has to be seen whether they can do it in a Test match," Rajput concluded.