Contrary to reports that BCCI is planning to cancel the proposed series against Afghanistan, there is a possibility of a second-string team playing the white-ball series. All seniors including Rohit Sharma along with senior player Virat Kohli could be rested before the West Indies tour.
All senior cricketers played Indian Premier League for nearly two months and will be in England to play the World Test Championship but after that, most seniors like Kohli and Rohit will need rest before they set to play West Indies including two Tests, three ODIs, and five T20Is.
With the only window for the Afghanistan series between June 20 - June 30, the BCCI might have shortened the series or might convert it into either T20I or ODI series and play with a second-string side led by Hardik Pandya.
The ACC board members will meet after the IPL final to finalise the future of the Asia Cup 2023, which means that the workload will only increase for the Indian players, keeping the World Cup in mind.
If finalised, the Asia Cup 2023 is expected to be played in September, which means that the Indian players will be hard-pressed to find time to rest and recuperate.
Mirwais Ashraf, Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) president is currently in India. He has come for the Indian Premier League final game, after being invited by the BCCI. There is also a meeting of the ACC after the summit clash on May 28 and the two boards may discuss the bilateral series. Even though the final decision on the same is yet to be taken, the commencement of the proposed series still looks doubtful.
According to Cricbuzz, the BCCI is finding it difficult to schedule the Afghanistan series, proposed to be having three ODIs, given the time constraint and also because the broadcast deal with Disney Star has ended and a new tender is yet to be issued.
However, a senior BCCI secretary Jay Shah during an earlier interaction with media in Mumbai had said "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 stakeholders concerned and will come up with an interim decision."
(Inputs from PTI)
