Jasprit Bumrah (Photo Credit: AFP)
Mumbai: The senior men’s selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, will meet on May 19 to pick the Indian squad for the one-off Test and three ODIs against Afghanistan in June after the IPL. confirmation of progress, BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia told TOI that the committee will call to finalize the teams for the home series.While Mumbai is the likely venue for the meeting, sources hinted that Guwahati or another city could also host it, not ruling out an online discussion. Ahead of the official meeting, the selectors are also expected to hold an informal virtual discussion on May 17 to consider a few targeted names, especially among the emerging fast bowlers who have impressed in recent months.The Test match will be played from June 6 to 10 in New Chandigarh while the three ODIs will be held on June 14 (Dharamsala), 17 (Lucknow) and 20 (Chennai). Shabman Gul He is expected to lead both the Test and ODI teams.However, the focus is on handling the workload of India’s premier fast bowlers, in particular Jasprit Bumrahafter calling for an IPL season. There are speculations that some senior players may be rested, as the one-off Test is not part of the World Test Championship cycle. So far, no players have officially called for a break, but discussions about workload management are likely to feature prominently.In a white-ball setup, there is also some uncertainty surrounding the wicketkeeper’s position. Vice-captain Rishabh Pant’s place in the ODI team has come under scrutiny, with Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan pushing the stakes after consistent performances. KL Rahul, however, is set to continue as the first-choice keeper batsman and the Afghanistan series will usher in a new phase for the visiting team under head coach Richard Pybus. Afghanistan is holding a high performance camp in Kabul to prepare for the tour. However, their build-up has been less than ideal, with the scheduled white-ball series against Sri Lanka in the UAE in March being postponed due to the Iran dispute.
