Ajit Agarkar, chairman of the senior men’s selection committee, will join the Indian squad in Port of Spain during the second Test against the West Indies.
This will be the former all-rounder’s first meeting with head coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma since taking over the new responsibility. Agarkar will be there for the ODI and the T20I series and could discuss the way forward.
While the pool of players has already been identified for the ODI World Cup in October-November, the chief selector is likely to discuss India’s blueprint for the T20 World Cup next year. More specifically, Agarkar is expected to communicate with the Big Two of Indian cricket, Rohit and Virat Kohli, about the roadmap for the shortest format.
Both the senior pros haven’t played a T20I since the World Cup in Australia last year and it is clear that they don’t feature in the scheme of things. Hardik Pandya has been the de facto captain.
The selectors have been trying to give enough exposure to the youngsters as they look to overturn the disasters of the last two editions. Both Rohit and Kohli are in their mid-30s and the think-tank feels there is no place for them in the shortest format.
“The time to bring in young blood in the T20 set up is overdue. They need enough opportunities and exposure before the big event to settle into their roles. Agarkar will make it clear to both Rohit and Kohli that they should concentrate on ODI and Test cricket,” a source told The Telegraph.
India’s next T20I assignment after the West Indies will be the three-match series in Dublin on August 18, 20 and 23.
Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness could also come up for discussion along with the composition of the World Cup squad. The fast bowler has been undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore since his surgery in March and is reportedly bowling at full throttle.
However, the selectors and the NCA are undecided on whether he should be directly included in the Ireland-bound squad. The NCA has made it mandatory for any player returning from a long layoff to play in the domestic circuit before returning to the international fold.
The only option for Bumrah then is to play for West Zone in the 50-over Deodhar Trophy but the NCA wants to initially limit his workload to four overs per match.
Given the circumstances, the NCA may have to make an exception or organise some practice matches before giving him the clearance for the Ireland tour.
There’s also a fitness cloud over KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer’s availability for the Asia Cup. There is talk that the selectors committed a mistake by including Yashasvi Jaiswal in the Asian Games squad and whether it would be prudent to include Rahul and Iyer directly for the World Cup without adequate match practice.
The Asian Games final is on October 8, the day India launch their campaign in the World Cup.