New Delhi: As the dust settles on India’s T20 World Cup victory, BCCIThe national selectors along with the team management have started planning for the World Test Championship (WTC) and the 2027 ODI World Cup. At the heart of the plans is the vexed issue of how to manage the superstar pacer. Jaspreet BumrahWorkload The BCCI, TOI understands, wants Bumrah – whose unique practice puts extra strain on his 32-year-old body, putting his workload under the scanner – to play all nine WTC Tests in the coming season.Go beyond limits with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!India will play a lone Test against Afghanistan in Chandigarh from June 6 but this is not part of the WTC cycle. India are scheduled to play two Tests each in Sri Lanka and New Zealand this year before Australia visit for the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy in January next year. Sources told TOI that reviving India’s chances in the current WTC cycle will remain a priority this year even as there is buzz about the ODI World Cup. India is currently ranked no. 6 in the WTC table.
“The effort is to keep Bumrah fit enough to play all the Tests. He is expected to play four Tests in Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Keeping him fresh for the five Tests at home against Australia will be a challenge. The selectors will not mind resting him for a few ODI series. He played T20 cricket after a gap of two years in the Asia Cup last September and still, IBCCI told sources.”
Last year, Bumrah made himself available for three of the five Tests in England. However, the board now wants him to play if he is medically fit. Bumrah played all four Tests at home after this series. He is expected to play a negligible number of T20Is as the next marquee T20I assignment is two years away.If India qualifies for the WTC finals, Bumbi will be a key figure in the Indian situation. Since then, India have failed to qualify. Gautam Gambhir Took over the post of head coach. The team has also been whitewashed at home by New Zealand and South Africa. The selectors have said it is important that first-choice Test players are available for Test cricket if they are fit. A call on the Afghanistan Test will be made at the back end of the IPL after studying the workload of the players.“The idea is to be serious about Tests. The Afghanistan Test may be out of the WTC cycle but there is nothing like match practice. Top players will be evaluated and met accordingly,” the source said. Sources said.After being sacked by South Africa last season, India’s Test captain Shabman Gul Marquee has advocated a larger turnaround time than other formats for Test series preparation. The last time India played Afghanistan in a Test in 2018, all the top players played except Virat Kohli, who was nursing a back problem. Focus on Pedicle, Jorel, Gaikwad in the middle order. TOI understands that Devdutt Padikal, Dhruv Jural and Rituraj Gaikwad are seen as middle-order prospects. The team management believes that Jural can be used as a pure batsman while Padikal is seen as someone who can challenge Sai Sudharsan’s spot at No.3. The team management also feels that Gaikwad can handle the turning ball in Indian conditions.
