The Indian team is set to face Afghanistan in a one-off Test from June 6 to June 10, and the team management is reportedly considering resting key players like captain Shubman Gill and pacer Jasprit Bumrah for the encounter.

This comes as the Afghanistan Test will begin barely 6 days after the IPL 2026 ends on May 31, and no World Test Championship (WTC) points will be on the table. Fringe players like Gurnoor Brar, Manav Suthar, Devdutt Padikkal, and Harsh Dubey could earn maiden call-ups instead.

The Times of India has learned that the management will make the final decision, but the idea is under discussion, and selectors will monitor how far the regular Test players advance in the IPL.

The circumstances might change if, say, the Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians are not in playoff contention. With all possibilities on the table, the selectors will make a final decision when they finalize the Test and three ODI squads.

"There is not much gap between the IPL final and the Afghanistan Test, so the selectors and management will be wary of not burning out the players, as there are three ODIs, then the white-ball series in England.

There are no WTC points in the Afghanistan Test, and the stakeholders need to carefully manage the workload because some of the players would be on the road for close to two months and have a lot of cricket in the remainder of the year,” a source told Times of India.

ODIs and WTC are a priority right now, and you want your best players to be fit, fresh, and available for the four Tests—two vs. Sri Lanka and two vs. New Zealand—and the many ODIs. Why even risk a Bumrah for this Test?” the source added.

The report also mentioned that the BCCI is tracking fast bowlers and spinners in domestic cricket, and some of the players might get their maiden Test call-ups.

Both left-arm spinner Manav Suthar and Gurnoor Brar have won over important men. In addition to Harsh Dubey, Auqib Nabi, and Devdutt Padikkal, both have been members of the India A setup and will be added if workload management creates openings.

"One thing is clear with this selection panel: they rarely jump the gun. It's no secret that Gurnoor and Manav have been very impressive, as have Harsh, Auqib, and Devdutt. It will all boil down to the discussions between the think tank and the medical team because optimum utilization of resources is going to be key here. There's no point putting your star players under the sun for a five-day fixture that offers no WTC points.

And there is little turnaround time between the Test and ODI series. So you will again be in the situation where a Test and ODI regular—say, like Gill, Bumrah, KL Rahul, and even Ravindra Jadeja—would switch formats from T20 to Test to ODIs in less than a month's time. The captain and coach have been very vocal about such scheduling in the past and could have the final say," adds the source.

India has a busy itinerary in June, with Tests and ODIs against Afghanistan, T20Is against Ireland, and a tour of England for a white-ball series that includes three T20Is and as many ODIs. Following that, there will be a three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe beginning July 23.

(Times of India report)