The Indian selection committee is reportedly still undecided on whether to rest some senior stars or field a full-strength pace attack for the one-off Test against Afghanistan national cricket team, scheduled to begin on June 6 in Mullanpur.
According to a report by The Times of India, selectors are expected to wait until the IPL 2026 playoff picture becomes clearer before taking a final call on India’s bowling combination.
Notably, the Afghanistan Test is not part of the International Cricket Council World Test Championship cycle. However, the selectors reportedly believe India should continue to field their strongest available XI in every Test match.
Bumrah Workload Under Discussion
Jasprit Bumrah’s workload management remains one of the key talking points ahead of the fixture. With Mumbai Indians already knocked out of the IPL 2026 playoff race, Bumrah will have a longer break compared to some other Indian pacers.
The report stated that a final decision regarding Bumrah’s participation will be taken only after “detailed discussions”.
“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,” a BCCI source told the newspaper.
Siraj, Prasidh Likely Busy With IPL Playoffs
Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna are both expected to feature in the IPL playoffs, with Gujarat Titans likely to finish in the top four.
Meanwhile, injuries have complicated matters further for India’s pace department.
Akash Deep is still recovering from a lower back injury, while Harshit Rana continues rehabilitation for a knee issue. Both are unlikely to regain fitness in time for the Afghanistan Test.
Young Pacers In Contention
If the selectors opt to rest some first-choice bowlers, younger seamers such as Auqib Nabi, Anshul Kamboj and Gurnoor Brar could come into contention for a place in the squad.
The report also mentioned that Nitish Kumar Reddy is being viewed as an additional seam-bowling option.
“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,” the source said.
The BCCI is reportedly continuing to monitor player workloads closely before finalising the squad for the Mullanpur Test.
