Reports: BCCI plans to rest key India players for home series against Afghanistan post WTC Final

Post the conclusion of the coveted Indian Premier League (IPL), cricket aficionados will get to witness and enjoy a plethora of packed international cricket in the coming times ahead. In the same vein, team India are gearing up for the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) Final against Australia, which begins on June 7, at the Oval in England. Thereafter, the BCCI has planned a home series against the neighbours, Afghanistan.

In the same vein, looking at the hectic cricket schedule of Team India ahead, there have been speculations that the BCCI may cancel the home series. However, if the reports are to be believed, the Indian board is mulling over playing a second XI Indian squad against the Afghans as part of their workload management efforts. Hence, it is quite possible that all the key senior players may be allowed to omit the home series. Moreover, there are also reports of a series conversion to limited overs format with Hardik Pandya most likely to lead the team.

Notably, this workload management is being planned keeping in mind the West Indies tour ahead, the Test skipper Rohit Sharma and star batter, Virat Kohli will be rested during the home series. Furthermore, the BCCI may even consider curtailing the series considering the only open window to manage the series is between June 20 and 30, respectively.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board President will attend the IPL 2023 final

Meanwhile, the BCCI secretary, Jay Shah, earlier had interacted with the media regarding the allotment of the tenders for the media rights which will be considered based on Afghanistan touring India and any further processing for the same will happen during the Australia series.

"BCCI media rights tender will be on schedule this year (June-July) and will depend on the Afghanistan tour, but more likely the process will start from the Australia series. The Board will speak to all stake-holders concerned and will come up with an interim decision," Jay Shah said during a media interaction.

In another development, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) president, Mirwais Ashraf, is currently visiting India, and he is expected to grace the IPL 2023 final. Interestingly enough, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) may conduct a meeting to decide the fate of the upcoming Asia Cup 2023. Hence, amidst that both the country boards may lock in the limited-over series.

Notably, Team India will play Five T20Is, Three ODIs and two Tests on the West Indies tour. The tour will start on July 12 and will conclude on August 13. Thereafter, India will travel to Ireland to play a three-match series in the shortest format.