Mumbai: The upcoming one-off home Test match against Afghanistan starting June 6, outside the World Test Championship (WTC) ambit, provides a rare opportunity for India to trial some of their fringe players. The word from the selection room, though, is that Test caps won’t be handed out on a platter.
After home defeats last year, before India’s Test team takes the road to away tours of Sri Lanka and New Zealand to bring their WTC campaign back on track, how the selectors straddle both worlds will be closely watched.
Cracks at No.3
One big decision will be identifying a solid No. 3. Ever since captain Shubman Gill pushed himself down and took the coveted No. 4 slot, none of the claimants for the one-down position have made a strong case. The incumbent Sai Sudharsan has shown glimpses of talent, but technical shortcomings (falling to the leg-side trap in England) and frittering away starts at home have been his undoing. The Tamil Nadu left-hander may consider himself unlucky, not to be given a long rope in any of the series, but rarely has a batter with a sub-40 first-class average been rewarded with an extended run at No. 3.
Hot on his heels is another left-hander Devdutt Padikkal. The Karnataka left-hander was first in line to take up the pivotal batting slot once made his own by Cheteshwar Pujara. Padikkal batted at 3 in one of the five-Tests Down Under in 2024, but did not get another chance. A prolific List A season, some impressive first-class knocks and equally importantly, authoritative showings in the ongoing IPL later, suggest he looks good to earn a recall. Although Gill could back Sudharsan, with whom he’s had many successful partnerships in the IPL, to get another crack.
The selectors will assemble in Guwahati on Tuesday evening, but Chief selector Ajit Agarkar has reportedly spoken with Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir. One sticking point from India’s home defeats was selection gaps in squads handed out by selectors and the playing eleven picked by Gambhir. All-rounder Washington Sundar’s elevation to No. 3 during the Kolkata Test against South Africa was a case in point.
Another priority for the selectors should be building a core group of fit fast bowlers and strengthening the thin stock of spinners. Jasprit Bumrah would play if asked to, but perhaps, what the premier fast bowler needs the most after a lackluster IPL is a breather to recharge his batteries. Mohammed Siraj could be performing at the business end of the IPL. India may still need him for the New Chandigarh Test, unless they want him fresh for the ODIs that follow.
A pace attack led by Prasidh Krishna may not catch everyone’s fancy, but pacers’ workload management should be the priority after an extended T20 season, spanning bilaterals, the World Cup and the IPL.
The other pacer’s slot should ideally go to J&K quick Auqib Nabi – the leading wicket-taking fast bowler in the Ranji Trophy for two seasons in a row. He may not be express, but the 29-year-old can bowl long, consistent spells to set up batters — a skill still integral to red-ball cricket. The other pacers on the fringes and picked for A series are Anshul Kamboj and Punjab left-armer Gurnoor Brar. All-rounder Nitish Reddy, who was underbowled last year in Tests, has added an extra yard of pace.
Among spinners in the fray, others than those in the mainstream like Kuldeep Yadav, Washington, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel are left-arm spinners Manav Suthar and Harsh Dubey.
Rohit, Hardik’s injuries under the lens
The three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, starting June 14, will kick-start India’s preparations for the 2027 ODI World Cup, the next ICC trophy on the calendar.
The batting stocks are in good shape. After impressing in the home bilateral series against South Africa, Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top and Ruturaj Gaikwad in the middle order couldn’t keep their places in the series that followed against New Zealand, once Gill and Shreyas Iyer returned. With highly experienced players in the mix, the selectors will face the same scrutiny as the players to make the right calls.
Rohit Sharma’s hamstring and Hardik Pandya’s back will be carefully monitored before they are handed out matches, of which there are plenty for the rest of the year. Whether Ravindra Jadeja has the wheels for another ODI World Cup cycle, is Axar Patel the same force in ODIs as T20 are other calls Agarkar’s selection committee has to make.