As Captain Shreyas Iyer sat down for the inaugural press conference for the India-Afghanistan series, the one question that kept coming back to him was injuries to players and the disruption it is causing to the Indian team. The captain is aware that the biggest challenge facing India as they begin their T20I series against Afghanistan is not the abundance of options, but keeping those options fit.
India’s three-match series against Afghanistan, beginning in Delhi on September 13, comes at an important point in the calendar. The same group has the Asian Games in sight, with India looking to defend its gold medal. The Afghanistan matches are an opportunity to build rhythm, assess combinations and, just as importantly, get players returning from injury back into the demands of international cricket.
But the injury list has already altered the plans.
Harshit Rana has been ruled out of both the Afghanistan series and the Asian Games after suffering another hamstring injury. Yash Thakur has been called up as his replacement. Jasprit Bumrah, Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy, meanwhile, have received fitness clearances and return to the squad.
That is why Iyer is reluctant to look at injuries as a frustration.
“I don’t feel it is frustrating,” he said when asked about the constant changes to the squad.
“We need to understand the amount of cricket a player is playing continuously and the intensity involved. Players are prone to injuries. We also need to understand that no player deliberately gets injured,” Iyer said. “They are putting in their efforts for the team, and if those efforts have a negative consequence, that is something you cannot control.”
The captain’s answer also explains how India intends to deal with the situation.
“All you can control is who is available on a given day, and you need to give that player confidence.”
That approach will be particularly important during the Afghanistan series. The squad contains several players coming back from injury, including Bumrah, Washington and Nitish. The objective cannot simply be to get them through three matches. India also has to judge how much cricket each player needs before the Asian Games.
Iyer made the point while discussing Bumrah’s return. For a player coming back from injury, he believes match time matters as much as training.
“When a player comes out of an injury, it is important that he gets game time. You need that confidence when you are coming into a game,” he said.
Bumrah’s return is particularly significant because he has been included in both squads after his knee injury. His availability gives India a major boost, but the Afghanistan games also provide an opportunity to assess his workload before the multi-sport event.
The same thinking applies to Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar. Both have had fitness issues and both now have an opportunity to establish themselves again before the Asian Games.
Iyer admitted that the team does not yet have all the answers on workload management.
“We had two high-intensity sessions yesterday and the day before, so honestly, I can’t tell you exactly how we are going to manage it,” he said.
For now, the message from the captain is simple: concentrate on the player who is available rather than the one who is missing. That philosophy will also be tested by India’s selection options. Iyer has Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and other batting choices competing for limited places. His answer was that this is a “luxury”, but the player left out also needs to be managed properly.
“Whoever gets the opportunity, it is ultimately for the team’s benefit,” he said. “For the player who misses out, it is important that I, along with the coach, keep communicating with him and give him confidence that he will get his opportunity when the day comes.”
That balance between selection and fitness could define India’s preparations over the next few weeks.
The Afghanistan series begins that process. The Asian Games of course is the bigger destination.
Iyer, however, does not want his players looking too far ahead.
“We will go game by game. We don’t have to think too much about the future,” he said. “Right now, we are thinking about the first game.”
That is the immediate task. But behind it sits a larger concern. India has the depth to cope with injuries but what they need now is to keep enough of their first-choice players fit to make that depth a strength.