Head Coach of India, Gautam Gambhir, and the captain, Shubman Gill, are not satisfied by the Board of Control for Cricket in India's scheduling. This is the cause of the short gap that there is between the conclusion of the Indian Premier League 2026 and India's next international assignment.
The IPL 2026 final is supposed to be played on 31 May and merely five days later, on June 6, India will kick off a series of all format games against Afghanistan with a Test match, sparking concerns over preparation and work load of the players.
According to TOI, Gambhir and Gill had both reportedly questioned the tightly scheduled fixture against Afghanistan, yet the series is due to proceed as scheduled. Such a compact fixture has also lead the team management to consider resting key players for the opening Test match.
A source stated:
"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."
Also Read | ‘Next Demi-God?’ Srikkanth Compares Sooryavanshi to Tendulkar, Urges BCCI to Act Fast
India May Rest Seniors as New Names Likely to Feature
Some senior players are likely to be given rest considering the lack of rest that they have been subjected to, it may be a good opportunity for the domestic stars to prove their worth at the Test level. Players like Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey, Manav Suthar, Auqib Nabi and Devdutt Padikkal have been talked about.
Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja are some of the key Indian players that can be given rest as part of load management. Even Captain Gill may be rested if it seems necessary.
However, the recent form in tests of India has also been questioned, as the team succumbed to a 0-2 series loss against South Africa national cricket team at home. Gill at the end of that series had himself highlighted the importance of preparation time.
He said:
"I think it’s important to at least have some bit of preparation, some time [to prepare]. Especially when changing from white-ball format to red-ball. So this was one of the things that I was very keen on, and I think we’ll take some action and we’ll keep it in mind to be able to prepare well before the start of any red-ball series."
Gill further said, "Maybe it would be easier to have a little loose calendar."
Despite these concerns, 2026-27 calendar has a jam-packed schedule and at present, we will have to observe how India juggles players workload and performance with fitness in such a packed season.
