New captain old side; selectors set to name six India squads on Friday

In another major development, Mumbai Indians all-rounder Krunal Pandya is likely to get his maiden India call-up after his staggering numbers in the ongoing IPL.

The senior Pandya will be included in the India ‘A’ squad, which many believe is a prelude to India T20I side.

“Expect Pandya to be a part of India T20I team, especially after seeing he way he is going about his game in the IPL,” said a top BCCI official.

The other Test regulars like Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha, Hardik Pandya are all set to be included in the squad for the Afghan Test.

In the absence of Virat Kohli, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane will lead India against the Afghans. Rahane last led India against Australia in 2017 when Kohli was ruled out with a shoulder injury.

Sticking true to its words of giving enough time to the cricketers to acclimatize before a long tour like England, the BCCI has decided to include the likes of Vijay, Dhawan, Rahul and Ashwin in the ‘A’ squad that will travel to England prior to the Test matches.

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Dinesh Karthik is set to be rewarded for his consistence performance. He too will be included in the ‘A’ squad, meaning that the selectors have moved over Parthiv Patel as the second keeper for Test matches.

Karthik’s place in the India T20I and ODI squad for the Ireland and England tour is also certain.

The immediate focus will definitely be on the Afghanistan one-off Test. It is certain that regular captain Virat Kohli will not be available for the Test match starting on June 14 at Bangalore, as he will be busy playing County cricket for Surrey preparing for the England tour.

Tuesday’s selection committee meeting bears a special significance as the selectors are set to choose six different squads. Test squad for the Afghan Test, India ‘A’ squad for England tour, India ‘A’ squad for tri-series involving England ‘A’ and West India ‘A’, India T20I squad for two T20Is against Ireland, India T20I and ODI squads for the limited overs series in England.

There were reports that not only Kohli but also a number of top Indian cricketers including the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, R Ashwin, Ishant Sharma were also set to miss the historic Afghanistan Test match. Now BCCI has cleared that all of them will be available for selection.

Pujara, who is playing County cricket for Yorkshire, will fly back home soon and so will fast bowler Ishant Sharma, making it clear that India are not in any mood to take Afghanistan lightly.

The national selection committee led by former India wicket-keeper batsman MSK Prasad will meet on May 8 (Tuesday) in Bangalore to announce India’s Test squad amid the frenzy of IPL.

The never-ending speculations about the Indian Test squad for the one-off Test match against Afghanistan, which also marks the debut of the Afghans in red ball cricket, will finally come to an end.