With question marks being raised about Ajit Agarkar’s future as the head of the men’s selection committee, former Indian spinner and interim chief selector Pragyan Ojha will chair the meeting for the forthcoming New Zealand tour.
The selectors postponed the squad announcement meeting on Monday (Oct 5) amid seamer Prasidh Krishna’s pending fitness report, but will likely announce T20I, ODI, Test and ‘A’ squads in the next 48 hours.
A Times of India (TOI) report claims that with ‘A’ matches, starting on October 24, overlapping with the five T20Is, beginning October 22, the selection conundrum has gripped the Ojha-led committee. Even though the selectors will not dilute the two squads, handing red-ball exposure to the Test regulars remains at the top of their agenda during the squad announcement meeting.
A few India A fast bowlers might stay back to assist the Test team with preparations. Irani Cup hero Mukesh Kumar, who picked up eight wickets in Rest of India’s victory over Ranji Trophy champions Jammu & Kashmir, is back on the selectors’ radar, with the committee set to hand him an India-A call-up. His Bengal and India bowling partner, Akash Deep, is also back in the reckoning for a spot in the Test squad, with the selectors deliberating on ace seamer Jasprit Bumrah’s readiness. The management wants him to increase his workload before joining the India squad for two Tests against New Zealand.
Ishan Kishan set for Test call-up
A T20I mainstay and a formidable One-Day batter, Ishan Kishan, could be back in the Test side for the New Zealand series, per the report. The selectors are said to have initiated plans to keep Kishan in line for a Test recall. While they wanted to pick him for the ‘A’ games, the overlap of the white-ball series could force them to look towards Dhruv Jurel and Kumar Kushagra.
Rishabh Pant is also expected to complete his preparations for the Test series by featuring in at least one ‘A’ game.
Besides Pant, other Test regulars including Devdutt Padikkal, Sai Sudharsan and even KL Rahul are expected to feature in one ‘A’ match. Since KL Rahul is also a key member of the ODI setup, he could feature in only the first ‘A’ match, before linking up with the One-Day squad in Auckland.
Reddy Ahead of Kuldeep
Unlike how India picked several spinners for their concluded Test tour of Sri Lanka, where Manav Suthar earned big praise for his standout performance, he could potentially miss out on the Test squad, alongside Kuldeep Yadav. With more focus on batters and batting all-rounders, Nitish Kumar Reddy could also be back playing Test cricket. Veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja would also retain his place in the Test squad.
Fast Bowlers in Mix
Barring Bumrah, who is a sure starter, India would have options to pick from an army of pacers, including Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar and Akash Deep. In case of an injury to any of the pacers, the door could be open for either Auqib Nabi or Mukesh Kumar.