Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj in focus as India weigh Afghanistan Test workload after IPL

NEW DELHI: The tight schedule for the Indian team has put the national selectors in a fix as they prepare to pick the fast bowlers for the one-off Test against Afghanistan, scheduled to be played in Chandigarh from June 6.

TOI understands that the selectors have a meeting scheduled with the BCCI to discuss the roadmap for the next few months. The selection meeting could take place over the weekend or next week.

It is learnt that the selectors and the team management have expressed their desire to field the strongest XI in every Test. India have to play nine Tests in the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle over the next nine months. However, the Test against Afghanistan is excluded from that cycle.
The main dilemma at the moment is whether to push the frontline pacers for the Test, with the IPL due to finish on May 31. According to sources, the selectors are waiting to see which teams make it to the playoffs before taking a call on the pace-bowling attack.
As of Tuesday, Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians were the only two teams to have been eliminated from the IPL playoffs. Jasprit Bumrah is the only fast bowler from these two teams who is a Test regular. However, Bumrah’s workload has been a sensitive topic for years. The other Test regulars, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna, are with Gujarat Titans, who are in contention to make the playoffs in the last week of May.
Akash Deep is still recovering from a lower-back injury and is unlikely to be fit anytime soon. Harshit Rana isn’t likely to be fit before the third week of June. The selectors have given enough indication that they have moved on from Moham-med Shami. Thus, it will be a major surprise if they choose to go back to him for a one-off Test.
TOI understands that the pool of fast bowlers on the BCCI’s targeted list have been asked to increase their workload for the remainder of the IPL. Anshul Kamboj and Gurnoor Brar have been part of the India ‘A’ scheme of things over the last year. The only other pacer who can push for a spot is Jammu and Kashmir’s Auqib Nabi, who has had a stellar couple of seasons in first-class cricket. He, however, isn’t a part of the India ‘A’ programme.

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It will be interesting to see if the selectors ignore the pathway they have created for Test hopefuls. Prince Yadav has impressed the selectors but he too hasn’t gone through the grind yet.
“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 BCCI source said, adding, “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.” All frontline batters, though, are expected to be picked for the one-off Test.