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BCCI Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar has said the selection committee relies on medical assessments from team support staff while managing the fitness of senior players, including Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya, who have been named in the ODI squad for the Afghanistan series.
BCCI on Tuesday unveiled the squad for the upcoming Test match and three-match ODI series against Afghanistan. India are set to face Afghanistan in a three-match ODI series from June 14 to June 20 after one-off Test starting from June 6. Shubman Gill will lead the side in both formats, with KL Rahul appointed vice-captain in the longest format, replacing Rishabh Pant. Shreyas Iyer has been named vice-captain for the 50-over format. Addressing concerns over workload management and injuries during the IPL, Agarkar said it is ultimately up to players, trainers and physios to assess whether an individual can continue playing through discomfort. In the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season, Mumbai Indians batter Sharma missed a few games after he suffered a hamstring injury, and Hardik is recovering from a back spasm. "I mean, sometimes the player knows whether he can play through it or not. I wouldn't be able to tell you, sitting here, whether they are playing through niggles or not. You certainly want them fit when they come and play or represent the national team, but that's an area of expertise for the trainers and the physios who kind of give me the feedback of where a player is at," Agarkar said during the announcement of India's ODI and Test squads for the Afghanistan series. He further added that the selectors trust the medical team's judgement when finalising squads, while remaining open to reassessing fitness closer to matches. "I'm not an expert in that area. If they tell me a certain guy's fit, I've got to trust that, that person when we pick them, and maybe in two weeks' time, if we are told that those two guys haven't quite made it fitness-wise, we take a call accordingly. But at this point, I've been told that they are on track and we'll perhaps assess it. Now, whether they've been playing with something I'm not sure, I go by what the physio tells me, and I have full faith in what the Indian physio tells me," he added. India ODI squad: Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vc), KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey. Note: Rohit's inclusion in the ODI squad, along with Hardik's, is subject to fitness clearance. (ANI)
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