Indian cricket team's selection committee chairman, Ajit Agarkar, along with two national selectors -- Shiv Sunder Das and Salil Ankola, are at Newlands where India will play South Africa in the second Test match of the ongoing bilateral series. (More Cricket News)
India's T20I squad for the Afghanistan series is expected to be announced after Agarkar & Co. speak with head coach Rahul Dravid, ODI and Test skipper Rohit Sharma and star batter Virat Kohli.
Apart from the Afghanistan series, there is a T20 World Cup this year in June, to be co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States of America. The Indian selection committee is keeping a sharp eye on the 'selected pool' of 25 to 30 players during the Indian Premier League (IPL) as the World Cup team will be announced accordingly.
“Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya aren’t fit. The Afghanistan series won’t tell you anything. Everything will be decided based on the first month of IPL,” a senior BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
The BCCI brass knows that they can’t tell any franchise to optimally use a potential pick for the T20 World Cup which will be held in June-July after the IPL concludes in the last week of May.
“The BCCI can never tell a franchise to manage a star player’s workload unless it’s a case of injury management,” the source added.
The selection committee is looking for two players for each slot as there can be issues of injury or fitness during the IPL. So, two players for one slot will be monitored and like-for-like replacements will be ready if needed.
(With PTI inputs)
