Ajinkya Rahane to lead the Indian Test side against Afghanistan in the absence of Kohli

Virat Kohli would be flying to England once the IPL is over. He has signed up to play County cricket for Surrey in an attempt to improve his batting technique in the swinging English conditions.

With Virat Kohli unavailable, Ajinkya  Rahane will lead the Indian team in the one-off Test against Afghanistan. The match will see the debut of Afghanistan in Tests. It will be played in Bengaluru from the 14th of June.
However, when the national selection committee meets in Bengaluru on May 8, they would have a lot on their mind other than the Test team selection. The committee will also pick six different squads. This will include the one-off Test against Afghanistan, India ‘A’ team for tour of England, ‘A’ team for tri-series involving England ‘A’ and West Indies ‘A’, T20 squad for tour of Ireland, T20 squad for tour of England, One-day squad for matches in England.

Due to his County stint, Kohli would be unavailable for the Afghanistan Test. He would be back with the team when India tour Ireland for two T20Is. This will be followed by three T20Is in England, three ODIs in England and the five Tests.

This is based on the Times of India report. Some other new faces in the India ‘A’ side would be Krunal Pandya. As per a senior BCCI office-bearer, “Expect Pandya to be part of India’s T20 team, the way he’s been going about with his game”.

Keeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik who is currently doing well in the IPL and single handedly won the final of the Nidahas Trophy against Sri Lanka. Despite Dhoni being an automatic pick, the selectors want Karthik to play a bigger role in future.

Karthik along with openers KL Rahul and Murli Vijay and off-spinner R Ashwin would also find a place in the India ‘A’ team.