Before the IPL 2026 season ends, the selectors would meet to pick the India squad for the one-off Test match against Afghanistan. India are scheduled to kick-off their international season after the IPL with this Test followed by other series over the next few months.
The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee is expected to meet the BCCI to discuss Team India’s roadmap for the international calendar after the IPL, with the selection meeting to take place in the next 7-10 days, a report in The Times of India said.
The report also says that the agenda of the meeting would be to pick the right set of fast bowlers with discussions also likely to happen around Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami. Fast bowlers such as Anshul Kamboj and Gurnoor Brar, who were part of the India A setup could be considered, including Jammu and Kashmir’s Auqib Nabi, who was the highest wicket-taker in this Ranji Trophy season.
According to the report, the best players are expected to be picked for the one-off Test against Afghanistan. Bumrah, who has had a mediocre IPL season, with experts saying that the star bowler is fatigued and needs a break, is expected to be picked. On the other hand, Shami, who has not played international cricket since the Champions Trophy last year, might be ignored again.
“The selectors don’t believe in compromising the Test squad just because India are playing Afghanistan. They want the best lineup to play. They don’t want to distribute Test caps so easily. Siraj’s workload threshold is very high. Prasidh hasn’t played an IPL match since 24 April. Nitish Kumar Reddy is also seen as someone who can contribute to the seam-bowling department. The BCCI monitors all data points when it comes to workload management,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying by TOI.
“A call on Bumrah will be taken after a detailed discussion. The last time India played Afghanistan in a Test match, the frontline XI was played,” the report added.
India are set to play nine Tests in the next nine months as part of the World Test Championship (WTC). However, the one-off Test against Afghanistan is not part of the WTC cycle.
