Focus on Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah as BCCI looks forward to hectic international season

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season is reaching towards it climax, and the focus will soon turn to international cricket once more. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has already set its eyes on the huge international season ahead. The first challenge will be the one-off Test against Afghanistan as well as the three-game ODI series. 

The Men in Blue then travel to Ireland and England for a series of ODI and T20I games. As per a report carried by the Times of India, focus will be on veteran players like Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah ahead of a busy cricketing calendar. The newspaper reported that the selection committee are biding their time to see which team makes it to the final four stages of the IPL season. 

Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians are already knocked out of the season. The likes of Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and Anshul Kamboj are still part of the teams that are in contention for a place in the playoffs. TOI also reported that Akash Deep and Harshit Rana are still weeks away from being passed fit. 

Mohammed Shami set to be ignored again, Ranji Trophy winner in selection fray

As per the same reports carried by The Times of India, veteran seamer Shami is not in the selectors' radar. The 35-year-old was one of the best bowlers during the recent Ranji Trophy season and has been doing well with the ball in the IPL as well. The LSG seamer hasn’t played for India since the Champions Trophy 2025 campaign. The right-arm seamer had picked 37 wickets from 7 games for Bengal with a best of 8/90 last season. 

Meanwhile, the Indian selectors are likely to give Auqib Nabi Dar his first call-up to the national side. Jammu and Kashmir pacer had picked a whopping 60 wickets from ten games last season and helped his side win their first-ever Ranji title. Dar, currently playing for Delhi Capitals, could be in contention for a place in the side to face Afghanistan. 

Anshul Kamboj and Gurnoor Brar being monitored closely

Punjab pacer Gurnoor Brar and CSK seamer Anshul Kamboj are two other names that the selectors are keen to have a close look at. Pacer from Haryana has played one Test for India during the 2025 tour of England and has been in fine bowling form in the IPL. Brar, who clocks over 140 kmph, hasn’t been able to get any minutes under his belt this season with the Gujarat Titans so far.  

One unnamed BCCI source, while speaking to the newspaper, said, “Selectors don’t want to compromise just because it is IND vs AFG. The idea is to field the best side. As far as workload management goes, the board is monitoring all the data. We will also have a detailed talk about Bumrah.”