With the fast-approaching England tour, the BCCI has started planning for the Indian team’s travelling and squad selection for the A tour and the five-match rubber.

According to a TOI report, the Indian board has shortlisted a pool of 35 players that will be split into the India A and Test teams.

The report claims that Rohit Sharma, who had a lean patch in the longest format last season, also features in that list, indicating that the selectors are willing to give him another chance.

“Rohit is most likely to travel as the board feels that one needs a strong captain through the series, which is likely to be as tough as the Australia tour,” a BCCI source told TOI.

Meanwhile, the Indian selectors reportedly don’t have much faith in Sarfaraz Khan. Instead, they are likely to give opportunity to either Rajat Patidar or Karun Nair in the A games.

The source added, “About the middle order, the team management has shown very little confidence in Sarfaraz Khan’s ability. Nair and Patidar are seasoned red-ball players and are in fine form. It is likely that at least one of them will be on the India A team.”

On the other hand, BCCI is yet to take a call on Shreyas Iyer’s return to the Test team. The middle-order batter last played a Test in February 2024 against England.

“As for Iyer, he was dropped last year based on his poor returns in Test cricket. A final call is yet to be taken,” the source further stated.

It is also learnt that Sai Sudharsan, who has been in prolific form in the ongoing IPL, could be the third opener after Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal on the tour.

As per the report, left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who has been in and out of the XI in overseas Tests, will be part of the tour. With Ravichandran Ashwin being retired, the team management wants an attacking spinner, which might pave the way for Kuldeep.

However, Axar Patel’s name doesn’t feature in that lost, which is quite surprising since the player pool is large.

Furthermore, selectors are worried about Mohammed Siraj’s form, as they feel he has not delivered as a lead pacer in Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami’s absence. The board may ask a few Test regulars to play for India A and get into the red-ball groove.

The selectors are likely announced the squads by the second week of May. The five-match Test series against England is slated to get underway on June 20 at Headingley.

(With TOI Inputs)