Mumbai: The Indian cricket team will take to the field within a week after the IPL. Team India will play a Test against Afghanistan. And head coach Gautam Gambhir is not satisfied with that schedule Indian teamCaptain Shubman Gill. They are not at all happy with BCCI making the schedule like this. The final of IPL will be held on May 31. And the only Test match against the Afghans will start from June 6. Player workload can be an issue in this scenario. That is why Ajit Agarkar’s committee is preparing some reserve players to play against Afghanistan.

According to a report published in the Times of India, Gambhir and Gill did not want such a busy schedule at all. They had already spoken to the BCCI and opposed this. But there are reports that the selectors are keeping some new faces even if they do not change the schedule. They are Gurnoor Brar, Manab Sutar, Akib Nabi and Devdatta Padikkal. All of them have performed well in domestic cricket. In that case, senior players like Jasprit Bumrah, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, even Ravindra Jadeja may be rested, as they IPLand has a tough tour schedule ahead.

A board official, who did not wish to be named, said, “There is not much gap between the IPL final and the Afghanistan Test. So the selectors and the management have thought about the workload issue of the players. Then there are three ODIs and a white-ball series in England. As there are no WTC points in the Afghanistan Test, the first-order cricketers may be rested. Because there is an overseas tour for the next two months. So it is important to keep yourself fit. At present ODI and WTC will be prioritized.”

Meanwhile, BCCI is also going to take a new initiative. The Indian team now has to play multiple series throughout the year. According to sources, 30-35 players will be selected by the board after seeing the performance of the players in the current IPL. In that pool are those who can play in the Indian senior team in the T20 format in the next few years. After the IPL, there are tours to Ireland, Zimbabwe and the West Indies. Many of the top-ranked cricketers may not play for India in those series. That is why BCCI wants to build a pool of players.