India’s gearing up to face Afghanistan in a one-off Test and three ODIs. The red-ball game kicks off June 6, and the ODIs follow from June 13. The BCCI already released the squads, but there’s still a cloud around two players—Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma. They’re in the ODI lineup, but they have to prove their fitness before hitting the field.
Hardik plans to head over to the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru to spend a week training before joining the ODI squad, according to the Times of India. The BCCI asked both Hardik and Rohit to report there, though there’s no news yet on Rohit’s situation.
India’s ODI squad includes: Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), KL Rahul (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, and Harsh Dubey.
Meanwhile, Auqib Nabi Dar—who missed out on the Test squad and sparked some outrage—is one of seven bowlers called up to bowl in the nets before the Afghanistan Test. Alongside him is UP leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari, who’s on the Sunrisers Hyderabad roster in the IPL. India wanted a couple of wrist spinners around, expecting Afghanistan to lean heavily on that style.
A BCCI source explained that after a brutal run of three games in just seven days, they don’t want to overwork main fast bowlers Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna in practice. The squad needs quality net bowlers, especially with the weather taking a toll.
Auqib had a stellar Ranji season—he took 60 wickets and led Jammu and Kashmir to a title, but still lost out to Gurnoor Brar from Punjab for the main Test squad. That snub drew some sharp words from Dilip Vengsarkar, the former India skipper and chief selector, who questioned whether Ranji Trophy performances really matter anymore.
Even so, Auqib’s still only in the stand-by group with Siraj, Prasidh, and Brar.
The first official practice is set for Tuesday afternoon, but don’t expect players who just finished the IPL final to show up on Day One—some rest is in order.
By the way, seven Gujarat Titans players—Shubman Gill, B Sai Sudharsan, Gurnoor Brar, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Manav Suthar, and Washington Sundar—are all named in the Test squad.
