XtraTime Web Desk: The BCCI’s national selection committee will announce two squads on May 8. One is for a single Test match against Afghanistan next month and a team for the limited overs tour which will travel to UK to play two-match ODI series against Ireland in Dublin.
“There will be three squads that will be selected on May 8. The Afghanistan Test is from June 14-18, followed by UK tour that starts with two-match ODI series against Ireland in Dublin. The selectors will also name the India A squad that will tour England in June,” a senior BCCI official said.
The decision to announce the squad in advance is to ascertain who all are available for the Afghanistan Test with likes of Virat Kohli and Ishant Sharma set to miss the historic Test against Afghanistan due to their county commitments.
Cheteshwar Pujara, however, will comeback from UK for the Test against Afghanistan and then return back after playing the match as his county side Yorkshire doesn’t have any game during that period.
Also, procuring UK visa is another issue for a few players, which has prompted the board to ask the selectors to quickly announce the squad.
CoA chief Vinod Rai has already said that in order to ensure a good performance in England, at least six to seven Test specialist will be in England in June with the India A side to acclimatise with the conditions.
According to the BCCI official, the Indian A team will have seven regular players from the senior side, including Ajinkya Rahane, Murali Vijay Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya among others. They will be leaving for UK soon after the match against Afghanistan. The India A tour is set to start from June 21 in UK.