The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will reportedly convene a meeting with the national selectors during the weekend or next week to figure out the roadmap for the Test team in the upcoming months. India cricket team will take on Afghanistan in a one-off Test that begins from June 6, barely a week after the conclusion of IPL 2026. While reports earlier stated that India will field a full-strength side when it comes to the batting line-up, a call on the fast bowlers who will feature in the match is expected to be taken soon.
BCCI, selectors to take call on Bumrah, Shami in IND vs AFG Test
As per Times of India, the selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, has scheduled a meeting with the BCCI over the weekend or the next week to discuss the team’s roadmap in Tests for the next few months. The report states that while the team management have expressed a strong desire to field the strongest XI in every Test, the selectors are waiting to see which teams make it to the IPL 2026 playoffs before taking a call on the pace attack for the one-off Test against Afghanistan. Currently, Bumrah is the only pacer who will not be a part of the playoffs as MI have already been knocked out of the tournament. Bumrah, who has been at the centre of the workload management discussion, has featured in all matches that MI have played so far prior to which he was a part of India’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign as well.
Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna, who are a part of GT, are still in the race for a playoffs spot. Other frontline pacers like Akash Deep and Harshit Rana are injured, and hence are unlikely to be a part of the IND vs AFG Test. This brings us to Mohammed Shami. The Bengal pacer has been exceptional in domestic cricket, but is yet to make his comeback to the Test side, having last played for India in 2023. The report claims that the selectors have moved on from Shami, and that it would a surprise if they pick him for the one-off Test against AFG.
“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 April 24. 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 call on Bumrah will be taken after a detailed discussion,” a BCCI source told the publication.
The report states that the BCCI has asked the targeted pool of fast bowlers for the one-off Test, which includes Anshul Kamboj and Gurnoor Brar, to increase their workload in IPL 2026 while Auqib Nabi is a wild card enterant who could make his debut if the selectors decide so.
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